The Princess and the Frog: SHA Style
by HawtPoTaytoTott
Summary: Jaqulin Strife has a dream of owning her own restaurant, but when an unexpected old friend shows up in New Orleans and lands himself in a mess with witch doctor Facilier, Jaqulin has to dig a little deeper and find what's really important in life.
1. Prologue: Wish on a Star, Get a Frog

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**Hey, I haven't posted anything in awhile! Well, I was inspired to write this one day after watching "The Princess and the Frog" and I was like, "I want to write my own!" Now you will notice that this isn't a complete switch around from the movie because I kept a lot of the characters from the movie. Characters like Facilier, Charlotte, Big Daddy, Ray and Louis I kept because to me, you just can't replace characters like these. As for Tiana, her parents, Naveen and possibly a few other characters, I replaced them because I wanted to work with my character and my friend's character in this movie. You will also notice that I switched the roles of Tiana's parents, even though they keep the same lines from the movie. Aerith actually DIES in Final Fantasy so I stayed true to that.**

**I am working on this story with XxMollyStrifexX and Tomahawk41. So not all the chapters are written by me nor will I claim credit for them.**

**For those of you who are so CloudXTifa, that's great and wonderful, but let's not start a riot about it. I love Tifa, I do, but I love Aerith too. That's the way it's going to be!**

**We do not claim to own anything but the characters that weren't originally in the movie. We do not own "The Princess and the Frog", even though I want to own Naveen. Disney owns the script, the characters, the music, everything!!!**

* * *

_The evening star is shining bright_

_So make a wish and hold on tight_

_There's magic in the air tonight_

_And anything can happen…_

_"_Just in that moment, the ugly little frog looked up with his sad, round eyes and pleaded: 'Oh, please dear princess. Only a kiss from you can break this terrible spell that was inflicted on me by a wicked witch.'"

Aerith Strife tied a pink sash around a small mannequin—the pink sash that would adorn the new dress of Charlotte La Bouff, who sat at Aerith's feet beside Aerith's daughter, Jaqulin. Aerith had The Frog Prince propped open on Charlotte's dresser and she read as she worked.

"Here comes my favorite part," Charlotte whispered in Jaqulin's ear. Jaqulin made a face at Charlotte, then turned her attention back to the story.

"And the beautiful princess was so moved by this desperate plea," Aerith read on, "that she stooped down, picked up the slippery creature, leaned forward, raised him to her lips…"

Jaqulin's big blue eyes went wide and she shook her head in disbelief, hoping the princess would decide to drop the frog and run away. But Charlotte was grinning from ear to ear, nodding her head in excitement.

"…and kissed that little frog," Aerith finished, smiling down at the two blonde girls.

Jaqulin squirmed at the very thought of kissing the slimy lips of a frog; who knows where he could have been? She would never take a chance like that! She looked over at Charlotte, who was absolutely engrossed in the story. Jaqulin grimaced just imagining her best friend putting her lips on a frog's.

"Then the frog was transformed into a handsome prince," Aerith continued. "They were married and lived happily ever after." She snipped the end of the sash. "The end."

"Yay!" Charlotte cheered, lifting her arms above her head. She toppled over in her big pink dress and fell on her back, giggling all the while. "Read it again, read it again!"

Aerith grinned good-naturedly at Charlotte. "Well, I would just for you, Miss Charlotte, but it's time for me and Jaqulin to head home," she said sweetly. She looked at Jaqulin. "Say good night, Jaqulin, dear."

"There is no way in this whole wide world that I would ever, ever, ever and I mean never kiss a frog!" Jaqulin stated in a deliberate tone. "Yuck!" She stuck her tongue in disgust.

Charlotte gave Jaqulin a sly look. "Is that so?" she asked. With that, she placed a frog mask on her cat's head and shoved the cat in Jaqulin's face. "Here comes your prince charming, Jaq! Come on, kiss!"

"No!" Jaqulin hissed, pushing the cat and Charlotte away.

"Yes! Yes!"

"I won't! Leave me alone, Lottie!" Jaqulin laughed.

"I would do it! I would kiss a frog!" Charlotte exclaimed as she held her cat close to her. "I would kiss a hundred frogs if I could marry prince and be a princess."

Jaqulin stifled a laugh. She loved Charlotte's Southern drawl, but hearing her talk about kissing frogs and marrying princes made her giggle. "Then go ahead, Lottie! Kiss the frog!" she urged.

Charlotte didn't hesitate. She planted a kiss on the cat's face, squeezing it so tightly that it shot out of her arms and up to the ceiling, where it clung in fright. This made the two little girls roll with laughter.

"Oh my," Aerith said. "You girls, leave the poor kitty alone!" She got a chair and stood on it, grabbing the frightened feline and pulling it free from the ceiling. She stepped down and let the cat go. "Poor little thing," she said as the cat crawled away. Aerith shook her head with a small smile just as Charlotte's father, Mr. "Big Daddy" La Bouff, walked in the door.

"Evenin', Aerith!" Big Daddy greeted happily in his Southern dialect.

"Good evening, Mr. La Bouff," Aerith replied politely.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Charlotte cried as she raced up to her father. "Look at my new dress! Isn't it pretty?"

Big Daddy lifted up his little girl in his arms and laughed. "Look at you! Why, I'd expect nothin' less from the finest seamstress in New Orleans."

Charlotte pointed over her father's shoulder at the story book. "Daddy, I want that dress!" she exclaimed, talking about the princess' dress.

"Oh now, sugar, come on…"

"I want that one!" Charlotte tugged at her father's orange mustache. "Please, please, please, please!"

"Uh…Aerith? You suppose you could whip something up like that?" Big Daddy managed to say while his daughter had his mustache in her grasp.

Aerith smiled. "Anything for my best customer," she responded, gesturing to all the dresses she had made for Charlotte. She then held her hand out for Jaqulin to take. "Come along, Jaqulin. Your father should be home from work by now."

Jaqulin took her mother's hand and together they walked out as Big Daddy talked to Charlotte.

"Ah, now, princess, you're gettin' that dress, but that's it," Jaqulin heard him say. "No more Mr. Pushover. Now who wants a puppy?"

Jaqulin could see the shadow of her friend as she took the puppy from her father's hands, all the while saying, "I do! I do! He's so cute!"

Aerith and Jaqulin boarded the trolly that would take them home. As always, Jaqulin took the seat by the window so she could watch the people walk by and watch as the homes went from magnificent sizes and colors to simple, monochromatic homes. These simple homes were where Aerith and Jaqulin lived because they were a simple people.

Aerith helped her daughter down from the trolly, then held her hand as they walked down the tiny path that led to their front door.

* * *

"Mmm, that soup smells good, Jaqulin," Cloud Strife said as he approached his daughter, who was standing on a chair by the pot on the stove. Aerith was baking a pecan pie in the oven, monitoring Jaqulin while she cooked.

"I think it's done, Daddy," Jaqulin announced, giving the soup another stir.

Cloud smiled. "Are you sure?" he asked.

Jaqulin nodded once. "Mm-hmm."

"Absolutely positive?"

"Yes!" Jaqulin replied with another short nod.

Cloud took the spoon from Jaqulin's small hand and raised it to his mouth. "OK, I'm about to put it in my…" he said slowly.

Jaqulin gasped and snatched the spoon from Cloud's hand. "Wait!" she exclaimed. She grabbed a star fruit from the shelf and squeezed some juice into the pot a couple times, then stirred and sampled her creation. "There! Perfect!"

Cloud allowed his daughter to tip the spoon into his mouth to taste. He hummed as he smacked his lips, pretending to think about it. "Hmm…"

Jaqulin's round face fell. "What?" she questioned. She became nervous; she didn't want her daddy to hate her soup.

"Well, sweetheart…it tastes alright, but…" Cloud said as he stroked his chin in thought.

"But what?" Jaqulin urged.

"But…this is the best soup I've ever tasted!" Cloud laughed and lifted Jaqulin up into the air as she giggled happily. He looked at Aerith. "Aerith, our little girl has a gift." He nuzzled noses with little Jaqulin when Aerith joined them.

Aerith chuckled. "I could have told you that," she said. "I could never cook better than our little girl here." She took Jaqulin's hand in hers.

"Come on," Cloud asserted. "We have to share this with the neighbors." He let Jaqulin down and watched her run to the front door.

"Hey, everyone!" Jaqulin cried without a trace of shyness. "I made my star fruit soup! Come try some!"

The neighbors were all different kinds of Disney characters who didn't live as high up as others. They all knew the Strifes very well and often joined them for dinner when Jaqulin created something new. Many nights were spent on the front porch of the Strife home, indulging in the wonderful foods that happened to be made when Jaqulin received inspiration.

* * *

"What is so wonderful about good food is that it brings all kinds of people together from all walks of life," Aerith explained to her daughter. The neighbors had gone home and now Cloud and Aerith sat with Jaqulin on her bed. "It warms them right up to the heart and puts little smiles on their faces—just like yours, honey." She held up a picture of a restaurant with Jaqulin holding the other end. "And when I open up my own restaurant, people will line up for miles around…just to get a taste of my food."

Jaqulin looked up at her mother. "Our food," she corrected.

"That's right, sweetie," Aerith said gently. "Our food." She took a pen and wrote "Jaqulin's Place" in the upper right corner of the picture.

Jaqulin took the picture and pressed it close to her heart. She looked out the window and did a double-take with a gasp. She crawled to her window. "Daddy, Momma, look!" she exclaimed.

Cloud and Aerith went to the window and sat on either side of Jaqulin, following their little girl's gaze to the biggest, brightest star that shined against the dark velvet sky. Jaqulin's face was lit up with delight.

"Lottie's story book says that if you wish on the evening star, your wish is sure to come true," Jaqulin said. The star reflected in her blue eyes, making them sparkle.

"Go ahead and wish on that star, Jaq," Cloud advocated.

"Your father's right, Jaqulin," Aerith agreed. "Wish and dream with all your little heart. But remember, dear one: that star can only take you so far. You will have to do your part and work real hard. If you do that…well, you can do anything you put your mind to." Aerith caressed Jaqulin's soft face tenderly. "Just promise me one thing: that you will never lose sight of what's really important in your life." Aerith smiled as Cloud wrapped his strong arm around her and kissed her cheek.

Jaqulin nodded, her face beaming.

Aerith leaned forward and kissed Jaqulin's forehead softly. "Sweet dreams, sweetheart," she whispered as she tucked her daughter in bed.

Cloud kissed Jaqulin as well before turning off the light. "Get some sleep," he said quietly. He put his arm about Aerith's shoulder and together they left the room, shutting the door behind them.

As soon she heard the click of the latch, Jaqulin shot up from bed, grabbed her restaurant picture and crawled again to the window. She held the picture to her heart and gazed up at the bright star that winked at her.

"Please, please, pleeeease," Jaqulin murmured. She grinned in satisfaction as she looked down at the picture. Then something moved in the corner of her eye and she cautiously turned her head to the right.

A small green frog stared at her through large brown eyes.

Jaqulin found that she couldn't move. A scream built up inside of her, unsure of what this creature was going to do.

It croaked.

And Jaqulin let out the loudest, blood-curdling scream she could muster as she leaped off her bed and bolted out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

**So how was that? I hope you enjoyed at least a little bit of it. Though it's nothing special because it's like the movie in writing...but once we get rolling along, our own little parts will come into play and our characters will make this something different. FYI, Jaqulin is my character I made for Kingdom Hearts about three years ago. It was Tomahawk41's idea to make Cloud and Aerith her parents because of Jaqulin's likeness to Cloud. Also, when they say "Jaq", it's pronounced as "Jack." I didn't spell Jaqulin in the normal way. Jaqulin = Jaclyn. Or however else you spell that name.**

**Tomahawk41, you're up to bat!**


	2. Chapter 1: Down in New Orleans

The years rolled by, and little Jaqulin Strife grew up from a young, innocent girl to a hard-working young woman—a young woman who just walked through her bedroom door, worn out from a long night of working at a restaurant. You see, in recent years, Jaq picked up a job at a local diner--two, in fact--and worked as a waitress at both. Not exactly the most dazzling job in the world, but if it got her closer to where she wanted to be, Jaq would take it. Jaq lazily kicked off her shoes and arched her back as she stretched out. Then, she slowly made her way to her dresser, removing her apron and digging into the pocket.

"Well...not exactly the best night for tips," Jaq said dryly as she stared at the coins in her palm. "But it'll all pay off in the end." Shrugging, Jaqulin dropped the coins in a coffee can and shoved it to the back of the drawer, where several other coffee cans, all brimming with dollar bills and pocket change, sat. Then, shutting the drawer and yawning, she took out a folded-up picture and unfolded it. It was the same poster that Aerith gave her all those years ago; a constant reminder of what her dream was---and, more importantly, a reminder of Aerith herself. Jaq placed the poster next to a framed photo of Aerith; tears welled up in her eyes as she kissed her two fingers and placed them on the picture.

"We're almost there, Mom," Jaq whispered. "We'll get there."

Jaqulin let out a loud, audible yawn as she lumbered over to her bed, finally flopping over and falling asleep. She would've slept much longer, if it weren't for her alarm clock going off. Jaqulin lifted one of her legs up and stopped the clock with her foot before wearily getting out of bed to go to work...again.

"The things I do for a living, I swear," Jaq muttered as she opened up her closet and removed the last of her previous work uniform. "Well...good night, Clark's...and good morning, Remy's."

Jaq took a forest green dress from her closet. Then, just as soon as she got herself dressed, Jaqulin dashed out of her house and caught the next trolley into town. As she went, she couldn't help but hear a cheerful voice sing out...

**In the Southland...**

**There's a city...**

**Way down, on the river...**

**Where the women are very pretty...**

On the train into town, Jaqulin quietly looked through a cooking magazine, smiling at all the possibilities. Unbeknownst to her, a man by the name of Dash Baxter tried to make a move on her by offering a daisy.

**And all the men deliver...**

Dash was too late to do anything, as the bell sounded and Jaq rushed off...and wound up offering his flower instead to a rather agitated Pete.

**They got music...it's always playin'...**

As Jaqulin hopped off, she noticed a parade of jazz players going by. She couldn't help but give a tiny smile as the paraders passed by. But when she tried to go on her way, a cheerful Genie of the Lamp tried to dance along with her; agitated, Jaq tore herself away and continued on to Remy's Cafe. Shrugging, Genie continued on his way, following the rest of the crew.

"Heh...he IS kinda funny," Jaq chuckled to herself before turning to the cafe.

**Grab somebody...**

**Come on down...**

The chef behind the window, Daffy Duck, handed Jaqulin a stack of plates, which she handed flawlessly to Bear Hugger, John "JD" Dorian, Haruhi Suzumiya, Fred Flintstone, and Princess Peach, who all smiled in satisfaction.

**Bring your paintbrush...**

**We paintin' the town...**

For Jaqulin's next trick, she took a honey dripper and drizzled it over a plate of beignets. With a simple motion, she spun a platter with three more plates of beignets, and powdered them with powdered sugar. When the plate stopped, Jaqulin took one and handed it to a large brown honey bear by the name of Banjo.

**Oh there's some sweetness goin' 'round...**

Banjo took a bite out of the beignet, and a grin stretched across his face. He gave Jaq an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

**Catch it down in New Orleans...**

Jaq smiled at Banjo and gave him the same thumbs-up. But she didn't see Daffy tapping her shoulder with a spatula. The minute she turned around, Daffy tossed about six more plates her way; luckily for Jaqulin, a young woman who had been doing this sort of job for a while now, she was able to catch them all.

Meanwhile, outside, Homer Simpson was doing business with a shady-looking African-American man dressed in a slick-looking black suit and top hat.

**We got magic...good and bad...**

The man showed Homer a card, and Homer removed his fedora to reveal two strands of hair on his head. "Anything you can fix?" he asked hopefully.

**Make you happy, or make you real sad...**

Taking a small pile of purple dust, the man blew it onto Homer, who moments later had a full head of brown hair.

**Get everything you want, and lose what you had...**

Homer tried out his new devilishly-good looks on a woman standing nearby. She was intrigued at first...until Homer sprouted more hair in different places. Horrified, she whacked Homer with her purse and fled.

**Down here in New Orleans...**

Homer looked at his reflection in a window, and couldn't help but shriek himself. Meanwhile, the conman who helped Homer out chuckled in amusement as he pocketed the dime he got from him.

**Hey partner!**

**Don't be shy...**

The man looked to see Big Daddy La Bouff pull up in a Rolls Royce, and hand a young paperboy a stack of dollar bills in exchange for a newspaper.

**Come on down, and,**

**Give us a try...**

As the boy clicked his heels in excitement, Big Daddy drove off. The conman watched as Big Daddy off into town.

**You wanna do some livin',**

**Before you die?**

The conman's shadow---oddly enough---took out his dime and dropped it into his palm. Realizing what just happened, he growled in frustration; he was outdone by a boy much younger than him.

**Do it down in New Orleans...**

Big Daddy cracked open the newspaper and read on about a new arrival in town; a young tan-skinned man by the name of Prince Carter Smith...who, as it turned out, was just coming off a ship from England! As he posed in his regal clothing, cameras flashed from down below; needless to say, this was quite the event.

As soon as the cameras stopped, he tore off his clothes...not even bothering to watch his portly valet come up behind him...and revealed a more casual outfit. The Prince's long black hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and he wore a sandy brown button-down shirt with jean pants, brown sandals, an eagle-shaped belt buckle, and a light blue necklace with a white gem hanging on the bottom. He happily slid down the railing of the staircase and whipped out a ukulele, plucking it a few times while being surrounded by several adoring young women. Across the way, though, Carter spotted the jazz parade from earlier, and dashed off to join the fun, leaving Lawrence---his valet---to tumble down the steps with his suitcases.

**Stately homes and mansions...**

**Of the sugar barons and the cotton kings...**

Big Daddy's Rolls Royce pulled up to his mansion, and Charlotte La Bouff hopped in. Charlotte's doting father handed her the paper, and after a second or two of reading, Charlotte squealed in delight.

**Rich people, poor people,**

**All got dreams...**

Back at Remy's Cafe, Jaqulin handed Jack Fenton a small cup of coffee, and went on to pick up the empties that sat on the opposite table. The jazz parade came by, with Prince Carter following close behind them. He stopped playing and leaned over to Jaqulin, as if to try and catch her attention, but...

**Dreams do come true in New Orleans...**

Jaqulin just gave him a stern look, telling him to back off. Carter shrugged and went on his way. All the while Big Daddy and Charlotte pulled up...and the conman lurked in the shadows, fiddling with a card in his hand.

* * *

**A/N: Hey there, loyal readers, this is Tomahawk41, and what you just read wa sone of my little contributions to this story of ours. Now I personally loved doing this part of the story; partially because I really love the opening musical number =). Anywho, Carter Smith, much like SHA's Jaqulin Strife, is my own Kingdom Hearts character that I created three years ago for a story we worked on once upon a time. And, believe it or not, it was SHA that gave me the idea for Carter's parents! ...Who you'll be seeing much later in the story. Just thought I'd give you all a heads-up; that, and don't expect him to be TOO much like Naveen in this story. He loves a good time, and he's witty, but he's not too much like Naveen ;).**

**Okay, XxMollyStrifexX, now's a good time to make your writing debut! Let's see what you've got!**

**~Tomahawk41**


	3. Chapter 2: Princes and Beignets

"Order up!" Daffy shouted, slapping the bell with his spatula.

Jaqulin was making her rounds around the café, a tray with pancakes and a coffee pot in hand.

"Another coffee right here, Jaq!" a young dark-haired man called while holding up his coffee cup for Jaqulin as she walked by. He looked at her over the top of his shades.

"Coming right up, Dean," Jaqulin replied. She tipped the spout of the coffee pot into Dean's cup and topped him off. "Run into any more iron giants lately?"

Dean shook his head with a wry grin. "Nope. No more iron giants for this guy. Thanks for the coffee, Jaq."

"No problem, Dean." Jaqulin approached another table and recognized her friends—Sora, Kairi, Jim Hawkins and Yuffie—occupying the seats. "Hey, guys!" she exclaimed.

"Hey, Jaqulin!" Kairi greeted with a smile and a small wave.

"Morning, Kairi," Jaqulin answered as she set the coffee pot on the table. "Hey, everyone. What's up?"

"We're all going out dancing tonight," Yuffie said. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table, s directly at Jaqulin. "Wanna come? It'll be loads of fun!"

"Yeah, Jaq!" Jim added. "Give yourself a break for once!"

"You could use it!" Sora said. "Come on, it's the Mardi Gras!"

Jaqulin grinned sheepishly and sighed a bit. She started walking around the café again to check up on the customers. "I don't know, guys," she conjectured in uncertainty. "Besides, I'm gonna…" She did a double-take at a little blonde-haired boy in green pajamas who had jelly smothered on his face. Jaqulin offered him a napkin. "Here's a napkin, Danny." She looked back at her friends. "I'm gonna work a double shift tonight…" Jaqulin slid the plate of pancakes in front of Vlad Masters. "Here's your pancakes, Mr. Masters." Tucking the empty tray under her arm, Jaqulin faced her friends again. "You know, so I can…"

"Ugh, we know, we know. So you can save for your restaurant," Kairi finished for Jaqulin. She frowned. "Jaq! All you ever do is work!"

Jaqulin was about to retort when Daffy shouted, "Order up!" followed by the dinging of the bell. She grinned apologetically at her friends and shrugged. "Maybe next time," she offered. She slowly walked away.

"I told you all she wouldn't come," Yuffie said.

Jaqulin cringed when she heard this, but continued walking to the pick-up window.

"Are you talking about that lousy restaurant again?" Daffy asked.

Jaqulin glared at the duck, then softened her composure when she looked through the window. "Daffy, your eggs are burning," she said calmly.

Daffy yelped and turned back to his cooking. "Well, you're never going to get enough for the payment, you know," he taunted, saving the eggs just in time.

"I'm getting close!"

"Oh yeah? Just how close are we talking about here?"

Jaqulin scowled and took a deep breath. "Where are my pancakes?" she asked instead of getting fired up. One of these days she would roast that duck.

Daffy slapped his knee as he shook with uncontrollable laughter. "You have about as much a chance of getting that restaurant as I do getting Elmer Fudd to hunt rabbits in duck season!" he cackled. He held up his spatula like a rifle. "Bang, bang, bang! Oh yeah, got myself a rabbit in duck season!"

Daffy's laughter echoed in Jaqulin's head as she stormed away to deliver the pancakes to the awaiting customer. Just as she was walking by the front door, Big Daddy La Bouff entered clad in his usual white suit.

"Good morning, Mr. La Bouff," Jaqulin greeted without slowing down or stealing a glance in his direction. This was routine for her by now.

"Good mornin', Jaqulin!" Big Daddy replied cheerfully. He took a seat at the first table by the door.

"Congrats for being voted as king of the Mardi Gras."

"Caught me completely by surprise…for the fifth year in a row!" Big Daddy threw back his head and laughed with delight. "Now, how about I celebrate with…?"

Jaqulin placed a plate of hot beignets in front of Big Daddy. "Beignets?" she guessed. "I've got a fresh batch all ready to go for the king of the Mardi Gras."

"Well, keep 'em comin' till I pass out!" Big Daddy requested as he sunk his teeth into a beignet.

Just then, Big Daddy's daughter Charlotte burst through the door in excitement. "Oh, Jaq, Jaq, Jaq!" she screamed, running up to Jaqulin.

"Charlotte?!" Jaqulin exclaimed just as Charlotte wrapped her feather boa about Jaqulin and danced around her before skipping off towards Big Daddy.

"Did you get the news?!" Charlotte threw herself in a chair beside her father. "Tell her! Oh, tell her, Big Daddy!"

Big Daddy cleared his throat. "Oh yeah. Prince Carter…" he started, pulling out a newspaper.

But Charlotte couldn't contain herself at all."Prince Carter of England is comin' to New Orleans!" she cried. She snatched the paper from Big Daddy, held it to her chest and kicked her legs, squealing. "Isn't that the bee's knees? Tell her what you did, Big Daddy!" She grabbed Big Daddy's jacket and shook him. "Telllll herrrrr!"

Jaqulin held back a laugh at the pick-up window. Charlotte was such a funny girl.

Big Daddy straightened himself out. "Well, I invited…"

"Daddy invited the prince to a masquerade!" Charlotte interrupted yet again, rising from her seat to dance around ecstatically. "Volcanized!" She squealed once more. "Tell her what else you did, Big Daddy," she urged as she sat down.

Big Daddy stared at Charlotte, wondering if his daughter would interrupt him again.

"Go on," Charlotte allowed, gesturing him to continue.

"And he's stayin'…" Big Daddy began to explain.

"And he's stayin'…" Charlotte started to butt in only to have her father stuff a beignet in her mouth to shut her up, powder exploding into the air.

Big Daddy continued. "And he's stayin' at our house as a personal guest," he finished. "Phew!" He raised an eyebrow at Charlotte, who was nodding her head enthusiastically with a mouth full of beignet.

Jaqulin picked up the new plate of beignets and walked to the La Bouffs. "Wow, Lottie, that's great," she complimented. "A little word of advice: my mom always said that the quickest way to a man's heart"—she patted Big Daddy's rotund stomach—"is through his stomach." She walked away.

Big Daddy chuckled as he reached for another beignet, licking his lips. Charlotte stared at the beignets for a moment before gasping loudly. "That's it!" she yelled. She swiped the beignet that was headed for Big Daddy's mouth and ran to Jaqulin.

"What just happened?" Big Daddy mumbled, his hand still poised to stick the beignet in his mouth.

Charlotte embraced Jaqulin from behind. "Oh, Jaq!" she exclaimed. She turned Jaqulin around and held her by the arms. "You're a bonafide genius! I'm gonna need about five hundred of your man-catchin' beignets for my ball tonight!" She waltzed over to Big Daddy, giggling all the while, and shoved the beignet she stole in his mouth. "'Scuse me, Daddy," she said as she reached in his jacket, grabbed his wallet and slipped out a wad of cash. "Will this about cover it?" Charlotte danced back over to Jaqulin and pushed the money into Jaqulin's hands.

Jaqulin had to catch a couple bills as they fluttered out of her hands. She held the cash to her chest. "Th-This should cover it just fine, Lottie," she replied in disbelief. Her face lit up. "This is it! I'm finally getting my restaurant!"

Charlotte hopped up and down happily. "Woo hoo!" she cheered on her way back to Big Daddy.

Daffy had been watching from the window and now he stared in shock as the fried egg on his spatula slid off and hit the bell, making it ring. Jaqulin glanced over her shoulder at the duck and smirked with a mock salute in his direction.

_Roasted_, Jaqulin thought with pleasure.

"Tonight my prince is finally comin'!" Charlotte cried. She pulled Big Daddy away from the table just as he was about to eat another beignet and pushed him towards the door. "And I sure as heck ain't lettin' him go!" She slammed the door behind her.

In a lonely, dark corner of the café sat the tall, skinny African-American man that had ruined Homer Simpson's hair and love life. He had hidden his face behind a menu, but now he looked at the door where the La Bouffs had just exited. "Hmm…" he hummed as he grinned shrewdly at his shadow, which returned the wicked grin. He suddenly had an idea.

* * *

**A/N: I am SO glad I got to do this chapter! Charlotte has to be my favorite character in the entire movie because she's just so adorable with that dialect of hers and her personality is just outrageous! I've never worked with SHA's character Jaqulin before so this was completely new to me, but I hope I got it right for you, SHA! You're up next!**

**~XxMollyStrifexX**


	4. Chapter 3: Almost There

The Fenner Brothers "For Sale" sign was pulled out of the ground and heaved into the back of the Fenner brothers' sleek automobile. The brothers themselves climbed into their vehicle, dressed up in their bowler hats and black suits, one brother taller and slimmer than the other. They had received Jaqulin's payment for the old sugar mill on the docks of New Orleans.

"Everything looks fantastic, Mr. Fenner and…Mr. Fenner!" Jaqulin called.

"We have all the paperwork ready to sign for this thing at the Mardi Gras," the tall Fenner brother said. "In fact, I have a better idea: why don't we sign tonight when I see y'all at the La Bouff masquerade ball."

"You got the whole bargain, Jaqulin!" the other Fenner brother added as the vehicle drove away.

Jaqulin waved until they were out of sight and allowed a satisfied, accomplished smile to spread across her face. She sighed with content as she started to imagine everything she was going to turn that sugar mill into.

"Knock, knock. Table for one?"

Jaqulin whirled around and saw her father Cloud standing there, a beat-up old pot in his hands. "Oh, Dad," Jaqulin laughed softly, going to her father and wrapping her arms about him. "Thanks for coming."

"Anything for my little girl…who isn't quite so little anymore, huh?" Cloud said with a grin. "You've really outdone yourself this time, Jaq. I always knew you could get this far and even farther." He held up the pot and handed it to Jaqulin. "Here's something to help you get started."

Jaqulin stared at the pot, her mouth agape. "Mom's old soup pot," she breathed. Tears welled up in her eyes and she sniffled a bit. "Dad, you're giving this to me?"

"Your mother wanted you to have it. She always told me so."

"She wanted me to…?" Jaqulin's sentence trailed off as more tears streamed down her face. Emotion clogged up her throat so she couldn't mutter another word.

Cloud enveloped his daughter in a warm embrace and held her as she cried. "I know, Jaq," he whispered. "I miss her, too." He stroked Jaqulin's hair for awhile before pulling her away, cupping her face in his strong hands and wiping her tears away with his thumbs. "She'd be very proud of you, sweetheart. Now, come on! Hurry up, open the door and let's see what we're up against."

Jaqulin grinned through her tears and she unlocked the doors to the sugar mill, swinging them open all the way. She laughed with delight as she ran inside. "Just look at it, Dad!" she exclaimed. "Doesn't it want to make you cry?"

Cloud stood in the doorway with his eyebrow raised and inspected the antiquated building. "Yes…" he answered, hoping Jaqulin wouldn't hint his sarcasm. He was happy for Jaqulin, he really was. But this place—it was so dated and run-down! How could Jaqulin possibly turn this place into a fine restaurant?

But Jaqulin obviously had everything planned out to her liking; she was waltzing around the mill, saying where the dining area was going to be and where there would be a grand staircase leading up to yet another dining area. She flitted by Cloud as he walked in. "And the band will go right way you're standing, Daddy…oh! And right here, a gourmet kitchen! And then, right above our heads, a great, big chandelier!" Jaqulin twirled in place under the spot she declared as the chandelier's final placement on the ceiling, her café uniform waving about her slender legs.

Cloud couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, one thing's for sure," he said, "you're definitely your mother's daughter." He set the pot down on an old stool and looked around. "She used to love this place. She'd go on and on about this sugar mill, every single day." Cloud wrapped an arm around Jaqulin when she came to stand by him. "Jaq, this place will be wonderful. It'll take some work, but we'll get there. It's just too bad you're working so hard when you could be out doing other things."

"But I'm so _close_!" Jaqulin stated, her blue eyes lifting to the ceiling. She visualized everything all over again. "And I have to make sure all of Mom's hard work and care means something."

"Jaq," Cloud said sternly, looking his daughter square in the eyes. "Your mother may not have gotten what she wanted"—he sighed, softening his expression—"but she had something so much more worth it." He caressed Jaqulin's face lovingly. "She had love. And that's all she and I ever wanted for you, Jaqulin. Your mother always talked about you finding your Prince Charming and 'dancing off into your happily ever after'…or something like that."

"Oh, Dad," Jaqulin chuckled. "I don't have time for dancing!"

**That's just gonna have to wait awhile…**

Cloud folded his arms across his chest. "Exactly how long are we talking about?" he asked.

**Ain't got time for messin' around**

Jaqulin ripped a sheet hanging in a window and as her father sat down at the broken-down wooden table, she laid it on top like a tablecloth.

**And it's not my style**

"You know how much your mother wanted grandkids, right?" Cloud questioned.

**This old town can slow you down**

**People takin' the easy way**

Jaqulin handed Cloud the torn-up picture of the "Jaqulin's Place" restaurant. Cloud studied it, not so certain how this headstrong daughter of his was going to pull off something so nice. Jaqulin noticed Cloud's doubt and lifted his head to look again.

**But I know exactly where I'm goin'**

**Getting' closer, closer every day**

Jaqulin pictured everything in color and pretended to burst through the front doors in a classy light green dress that trailed behind her on the floor. Her long blonde was done up in beautiful curls with sparkles sprinkled in the strands.

**And I'm almost there!**

**I'm almost there **

**People down here think I'm crazy **

**But I don't care**

Jaqulin sipped some wine, straightened the tie of a waiter and signed a contract for her restaurant, taking the feather pen and sticking it in her hair as she danced away.

**Trials and tribulations**

**I've had my share**

Jaqulin walked by a waiter who was standing on a ladder to dust off the chandelier. The ladder tipped and left the poor waiter hanging by an arm of the chandelier. Jaqulin nonchalantly caught the ladder and threw it back under the waiter, causing him to smile.

**There ain't nothin' gonna stop me now**

'**Cause I'm almost there!**

Jaqulin placed a white flower in each of her waiters' jackets, and then threw the rest into the air.

**I remember Momma told me**

**Fairytales can come true**

Jaqulin tasted the chef's soup, but grimaced when she swallowed. She scooped up the pepper shaker and added some pepper to the soup, giving the chef an "OK" sign.

**You've gotta make 'em happen**

**It all depends on you**

Jaqulin spotted another chef chopping vegetables and she slid over next to him, taking the knife from his hands and swiftly chopping the vegetables with perfect quality.

**So I work real hard each and every day**

**Now things for sure are goin' my way**

Jaqulin whipped some smooth white cream in a bowl and plopped a dollop on various desserts sitting on a banquet table.

**Just doin' what I do**

**Look out, boys, I'm comin' through!**

Jaqulin parted the line of waiters and danced past them with an air of a confident attitude.

**I'm almost there!**

**I'm almost there**

Jaqulin opened the doors, revealing the smiling faces of hundreds of hungry, well-dressed customers. She stepped aside and gestured for them all to enter her fabulous restaurant. She was lifted up by her waiters and carried through the dining area to the grand staircase.

**People gonna come here from everywhere**

**And I'm almost there**

**I'm almost there!**

Jaqulin was carried to the very top of the staircase, where she lifted a champagne glass to the customers, who enthusiastically returned the toast. Jaqulin slid down the banister of the stairs, landed on the chef's cart and snatched the cherry that had been nestled in the frosting of the cake the chef had been about to put down. Jaqulin ate the cherry as she rolled along through the restaurant, wiping the face of a young boy on her way past. The cart did a wheelie, spun around and came to a stop as Jaqulin jumped off and landed beside the piano player. She removed the feather from her hair and tucked it in the sash around the pianist's hat.

**There's been trials and tribulations**

Jaqulin went to her father and hugged him tightly. The colorful of her imagination's eye faded and brought her back to the dusty old sugar mill.

**You know I've had my share**

**But I've climbed the mountain **

**And I've crossed the river**

**And I'm almost there**

**I'm almost there**

Jaqulin and Cloud dusted and swept the mill, preparing it for when Jaqulin would truly transform it into a beautiful restaurant. Jaqulin stopped in the middle of the floor with broom in hand.

**I'm al…most….there!**

Jaqulin spun around and kicked dust into the air with her broom as she held out the very last note of her song. Cloud straightened out the sheet on the table while Jaqulin picked up the pot and then he held out his arm for Jaqulin to grab as they strode out of the building into the sunshine.

After they shut the door, part of the banister on the decrepit staircase came loose and crashed to the dusty wood floor of Jaqulin's future restaurant.

* * *

**A/N: I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing that I didn't have to look up the lyrics for "Almost There" as I was writing this part. I'm REALLY glad this part landed on my shoulders because this song is my favorite--next to "Friends on the Other Side". Now, I really made it my own in this chapter minus the Fenner Bros. and the song itself, but as for changing it up to suit Jaqulin and Cloud? Yeah, definitely made it my own. It was funny doing spell check...the computer kept wanting to call Jaqulin "Joaquin". That's what you get for being original.**

**OK, You-Know-Who, you're up!**

**~SHA 3**


	5. Chapter 4: Friends on the Other Side

"Oooh, confound that boy," Lawrence grumbled as he walked through town with his arms full of suitcases. "Oh, excuse me, pardon me!" Lawrence accidentally bumped into Edward and Alphonse Elric as they walked by.

"My head!" Alphonse yelped as he grabbed onto his dislodged head.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, ya jerk!" Edward snapped angrily.

"Terribly sorry, boys," Lawrence turned briefly before going back on his way again.

Edward dusted himself off. "Geesh, people in this town can be so pushy," Edward grumbled.

"I don't think he was from around here, actually," Alphonse said.

"What makes you so sure?" Edward asked as the two brothers got back to walking again.

"I dunno, just a feeling," Alphonse shrugged.

Lawrence feverishly rushed through the streets, accidentally bumping into Danny Fenton and Sam Manson along the way, and nearly knocking over a tall, spindly imaginary friend named Wilt.

"Need some help, friend?" Wilt asked.

"Now where could that..." Lawrence's attention turned to a small group of people crowded around a street band. And right in the middle of the group was Carter himself, plucking his ukulele and dancing along to the beat with the paperboy from earlier.

"Woah-woah-woah-woah, WOO-HOO! Alright!" Carter cried as he jumped in the air with the paperboy. His playing slowed as he saw the paperboy break out into his own little dance; he shuffled along the ground, jumped up, and performed a split.

Carter's eyes went wide as he said, "Wow! In-credible!" He winked to a trio of Anise Tatlin, Kagome Higurashi, and Ariel as he spun off into his own dance again.

"Sire!" Lawrence called from behind the wall of people "Oh, thank goodness I found you...I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Oh! Heh, looks like I've been avoiding you everywhere...sorry about that." Carter winked playfully as he continued to dance.

"Sir, we're going to be late for the masquer---"

"Take a listen, Lawrence!" Carter put an arm around Lawrence's shoulder. He closed his eyes as he smiled widely. "Ahhh, YES! Jazz music! This is where it was made! It's got a great sound to it." Carter leaned on Lawrence and looked lovingly at Ami Onuki and Yumi Yoshimura; Ami swooned while Yumi simply shrugged.

"I'm sure it sounds lovely..." Lawrence mumbled.

Carter skillfully tossed his ukulele to the paperboy, who caught it and looked up at him with a wide-eyed smile. "Swing it, fatman!" Carter laughed as he pulled Lawrence into a wild foxtrot, making Lawrence loose his bags. "Ha-ha! Stay loose, Lawrence! Yeah, you're getting it now!"

"Sire, we were supposed to be at the La Bouff estate by now!" Lawrence protested, trying to stay on his feet.

"I know, but there's nothing wrong with cutting loose," Carter grinned. He beckoned to the crowd, shouting, "Drinks on me, folks!"

Lawrence looked flabbergasted as the crowd cheered. "And HOW do you suppose you're going to pay for all those drinks?!" he asked as Carter flipped on a sandy brown straw hat. "Prince Carter, at this rate, there are two options present. Either woo and marry a rich young lady..." Lawrence grinned devilishly as he rubbed his fingers together. His face became stern as he said, "Or...GET A JOB!" Lawrence motioned to a man with a shovel standing behind a horse. He was...well, let's just say his job wasn't exactly what Carter had in mind for a career.

"Alright, alright," Carter sighed. "But first, we DANCE!" Carter picked Lawrence back up and started swinging him around again. "Wow, for someone who can't even see his own feet, you're pretty light on them!"

"An inspiration to big guys everywhere, I tell ya," chuckled a rotund man in a yellow jumpsuit named Rufus.

Carter accidently swung Lawrence into the tuba of one of the musicians, and sent him careening into the wall. Some people took notice and winced. "Okay, THAT looked like it hurt," commented Timmy Turner.

"Well, well, well," Carter laughed into the mouthpiece. "You finally got into the music, Lawrence! Get it? 'Cause, you're stuck in the---"

"Never mind the explanation!" Lawrence snapped. "Get this infernal thing off of me!"

"Okay, just take it easy," Carter calmed him down. He and the tuba player got on either side, and pulled. "One...two...THREE!" On three, the duo fell on top of each other, with Carter laughing uproaroiusly on the bottom.

"How degrading!" Lawrence bemoaned. "And I have never been so humiliated in all...my..."

Lawrence stopped short at the sight of a familiar figure, resting on a long cane with a purple orb on top. "Oh, uh...hi?" Carter asked timidly.

"Gentlemen!" the conman greeted cheerfully as he offered his cane. "Enchante!" He offered his cane to Carter, and helped him up. "A tip of the hat from Dr. Facilier," the man continued, removing his hat and spinning it stylishly. "How y'all doin'?"

Carter took a card that the doctor had conjured up in his hand. "Hmmm..." Carter inspected the card and read off the items listed. "Tarot readings...potions...charms...dreams made real? Woah-ho!"

"You got that right, son," Facilier chuckled as he and Carter strolled down the sidewalk. "Now, were I a bettin' man...and I'm not, I stay away from games of chance," Facilier added quickly as he ran his fingers along Carter's palm. "I'd wager that I'm in the company of visiting royalty. Two lines, if I'm not mistaken."

"Um...yeah," Carter nodded slowly. "My mother is the daughter of an Indian tribe's chief in Virginia. And my father was knighted recently."

"Well, color me impressed," Facilier grinned.

Lawrence panted heavily as he approached Carter. "Oh! Lawrence!" Carter said excitedly. "This guy's amazing; he figured me out just by reading my palm!"

"Or...this morning's newspaper," Lawrence eyed the rolled-up newspaper tucked into Facilier's back pocket. "Sire!" he hissed. "I have a bad feeling about this chap...he's a charlatan, if there ever was one! We're best off moving along to the La Bouff estate before we..."

"Don't you disrespect me, little man!" Facilier snapped, pointing an accusing finger at a startled Lawrence. He wagged the finger as he continued, "Don't you derogate...or deride..." Then, motioning his cane to the sign over his door, flames lit up as he sang:

**You're in my world now, not your world...**

**And I've got friends, on the other side.**

"He's got friends on the other, siiiide..." an eerie chorus of voices echoed from within Facilier's emporeum as the front door creeked open.

"That's an echo, gentlemen," Facilier explained easily as he lead Lawrence and Carter in. "Just somethin' we have here in Lou'siana, little parlor trick, don't worry." Unexpectedly, Facilier pushed Carter and Lawrence in. Then, the door shut as Facilier spun on his heel and snapped his fingers, lighting up the center of the room. Facilier's rhythmic voice echoed through the room, singing:

**Sit down at my table...**

**Put your mind at ease...**

Facilier's shadow creeped up on the wall and, magically, blew Carter and Lawrence's hats off.

**If you relax, it will enable me...**

Facilier pushed Carter towards his table while his shadow kicked Lawrence from behind.

**To do,**

**Anything I please!**

The shadow and Facilier high-fived each other as the witch doctor shuffled his feet to the rhythm.

**I can read your future...**

**I can change it round some, too!**

Facilier's shadow changed into a long, slippery snake (complete with his top hat), as he sauntered up to Carter and Lawrence.

**I'll look deep into your heart and soul...**

"You DO have a soul, don'tcha, Lawrence?" Facilier asked as he leaned into Lawrence's face. Then, he jumped back and struck a few poses as he sang:

**Make your wildest dreams come true!**

**I got voodoo,**

**I got hoodoo,**

**I got things I ain't even TRIED!**

Holding a little case, Facilier unleashed a fiery demon before shutting it back inside. Then, his shadow pushed a chair forward as he sang,

**And I got friends, on the other side...**

"He's got friends on the other side..." a bunch of African masks spoke behind Carter and Lawrence. Facilier took a deck of cards and shuffled them about, rolling them behind his shoulder and manipulating them in ways you couldn't believe.

**The cards...the cards...the cards, will tell...**

**The past, the present and the future as well!**

**The cards...the cards...just take, three.**

As Facilier held the cards in front of him, Carter and Lawrence took three cards each.

**Take a little trip into your future with meeee...**

When Carter and Lawrence chose all three of their cards, Facilier spread them out next to each other. His eyes fell on Carter first as his smooth voice resonated once again.

**Now you, young man, are from across the seeea...**

Facilier held up a card with a picture of a castle on it, pulling it up to reveal an extensive family tree, and Carter's likeness sitting on a throne with a white rose.

**You come from two long lines of roooyaltyyy...**

"I'm a royal myself, on my mother's side," Facilier held up a shrunken of head, making Carter cringe. Then, Facilier flipped over the next card, showing the same likeness surrounded by two beautiful women.

**Your lifestyle's hiiiigh...**

The card spun at Facilier's touch, changing to show the look-alike with empty pockets.

**But your funds are looow...**

With a sweep of the hand, the card changed again, revealing Carter with a woman in a wedding gown, and a king sitting atop a pile of gold coins.

**You need to marry a little honey whose daddy got dough!**

"So, mom 'n' dad cut you off, huh, pretty boy?" Facilier asked.

"Yeah, unfortunately," Carter shrugged.

"Now y'all gotta get hitched," Facilier shuffled his cards casually. "But hitchin' ties ya down...you just wanna be free! Hop from place to place!" On "place to place," the cards leapt from Facilier's hand and spread out in a row. "But freedom...takes GREEN..." Facilier chuckled. Then, he swept his hand over the cards, turning them into dollar bills as he boomed:

**It's the green,**

**It's the green,**

**It's the green you neeeeeed...**

Facilier handed Carter a card, which he couldn't help but smile at; on the card was him, strumming a guitar surrounded by dollar bills.

**And when I looked into your future, it's the green that I've seen!**

Now it was Lawrence's turn, and Facilier made no attempt to let a casual tone take him over.

**On you, little man, I don't wanna waste much time,**

**You've been pushed 'round all your life...**

With a flip of the card, Lawrence saw a likeness of him dressed in a jester's costume carrying a pile of lumber. Facilier used the card like a flipbook, and as the pictures flipped, an elder woman, a younger woman, and a little boy landed on top of him.

**You've been pushed 'round by your mother,**

**And your sister,**

**And your brother...**

**And if you was married...**

Lawrence's face lit up hopefully at the sound of 'married'...

**You'd be pushed 'round by your wife!**

...But fell as soon as Facilier sung his line and showed another card.

Carter chuckled at this, earning him a glare from his valet. Then, Facilier came up and said:

**But in your future,**

**The you I see...**

Facilier flipped the card over and showed Lawrence what was on it: him and Carter, with their roles reversed.

**Is exactly the man you always wanted to be...**

Leaving Lawrence to wonder, Facilier leaned over to Carter and offered his hand. "Shake my hand," Facilier said.

"Um..." Carter rubbed his chin nervously.

"Come on, boys...won't you shake...a poor sinner's hand?" Facilier asked.

Lawrence, who's ambitions became clear to him at the sight of the card, put it down and shook Facilier's left hand. But it wasn't until Carter took his right hand that mysterious things began to happen...

"Yeeeeees," Facilier grinned widely as African masks flew in, and the atmosphere turned mystic and foreboding. Facilier leapt from his spot and threw down a burst of magic, revealing larger masks as he sang,

**Are you ready?!**

"Are you ready?!" the masks called back as vipers wrapped around Carter's body, locking him into place. He could only watch as Facilier worked his wicked magic.

**Are ya...reeeeady?!**

The mouth of the largest mask opened up, and out floated a strange, mask-like talisman. Facilier yanked it out and grinned wickedly.

**Transformation central!**

"Transformation central!" three voodoo dolls pounded on African drums to the rhythm of the song as Facilier eerily crept forward and brought his hand down, donning a skull-like mask over his eyes.

**Reformation central!**

"Reformation central!" shrunken heads sang out as Carter struggled to escape.

**Transmogrification central!**

Facilier used the talisman to snap it down on Carter's fingertip, taking in a small sample of his blood. The prince winced in pain as the talisman glowed red.

**Can ya feeeel it?!**

A greenish glow radiated from the small wound inflicted on Carter's finger. It enveloped his entire body, shredding away at his clothes and revealing his decently-built chest, and making him pass out. The last words Carter could hear were:

**You're changin',**

**You're changin',**

**You're chaaangin' alright!**

**I hope you're satis-fiiied...**

Facilier's face moved and swayed as it strangely changed colors through the green mist. Carter could feel himself giving out, and his body slowly changed shape.

**But if you ain't...**

**DON'T blame me!**

**You can blame my friends...**

Lawrence looked terrified as Carter finally finished his transformation. The voodoo dolls on Lawrence's shoulder hopped off as Facilier finished his number.

**On the ooooo-theeeer...**

**Siiiiiiiiiiide!**

(You got what you wanted!)

**Ah-ha-ha-HA!**

(But it's not what you get!)

Facilier laughed as he slid down the corridor, lights flashing and exploding everywhere. The music stopped as the show stopped. All anyone could hear a moment later was:

**HUSH...**

"Oh, dear..." Lawrence groaned.

* * *

**A/N: Wow! Just my luck to get one of the best songs in this whole movie, huh?****I didn't think I WOULD get it, to be quite honest. But hey, it's cool that I ****did, anyway =).**

**So, Molly, what REALLY happened when the princess kissed the frog? ;)**

**~Tomahawk41**


	6. Chapter 5: Frog Lips

The masquerade ball was buzzing with excitement as several people of high respect danced the night away in the back of the La Bouff home, all of them dressed up in various, colorful costumes. The ball was so grand and spectacular even a few princesses, such as Ariel and Belle, had decided to join the festivities that the La Bouff family had organized.

Jaqulin was dressed up as Sleeping Beauty in a beautiful pink dress, her hair done in soft curls that cascaded over her shoulders and down her back. A cheap plastic crown was perched perfectly on her head. Pink wasn't necessarily her favorite color in the whole world, but it was better than nothing at all. Jaqulin, of course, was serving her beignets at the refreshments table happily; so far it had been a great success and everyone kept coming back for more. This was extremely pleasing to Jaqulin.

A whimper caught Jaqulin's attention while she was serving a couple beignets Aladdin and Jasmine. She glanced over and spotted Charlotte's dog Dodger with his head rested on the end of the table, attempting to snatch one of her beignets. "Excuse me," Jaqulin said to Aladdin as she handed him the beignets and then turned to Dodger. "Hey, hey! Dodge, down!"

Dodger gazed up at her with big, innocent brown eyes.

Jaqulin chuckled. "Alright, alright, alright. But just one!" She picked up a beignet with her pair of tongs and tossed the beignet into the air.

Dodger bolted away from the table and jumped, catching the pastry in his mouth. When he landed, he slipped on the waxed floor and slid past Charlotte, who was anxiously looking for Prince Carter while trying to escape a scrawny, big-nosed young man.

"But Miss Charlotte," the young man said, "you said 'later' two hours ago!"

Charlotte had climbed a couple steps on the staircase, her puffy pink dress billowing out from her waist, but now she stopped and sighed hopelessly. She looked at the young man. "Travis," she said in exasperation, "when a woman says 'later,' she really means 'not ever.'" Charlotte gently swatted Travis' large nose with her fan. "Now run along. There are plenty of young fillies dyin' for you to waltz them into a stupor." Once she was sure that Travis was gone, Charlotte whirled around and gathered up a handful of napkins from the beignet table. "Gimme them napkins! Quick!"

"What on earth for?" Jaqulin asked, raising an eyebrow.

Charlotte dove behind the stairs and stuffed the napkins under her armpits. "I swear, I'm sweatin' like sinner in church!" she exclaimed.

Jaqulin smirked and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, Jaq, it's gettin' to be so late," Charlotte said worriedly when she was beside Jaqulin.

"There's still a few stragglers," Jaqulin remarked with a forced, assuring smile.

"This is a failure! Jaq, my prince is never comin'!"

"Now, Lottie…"

"I never get anything I wish for!" With that, Charlotte sprinted up the stairs, crystal tears welling up in her eyes.

"Lottie, wait!" Jaqulin called. She abandoned the table and hurried after her friend, meeting up with Charlotte at the top of the stairs. Jaqulin took Charlotte's arms in her hands gently. "Just calm down and take a deep…"

Charlotte's head shot up, revealing the wet mascara that trickled down from her eyes in ebony tears. "Maybe I just gotta wish harder!" she cried. She turned to the biggest star in the night sky and clasped her hands together. "Oh, please, please, please, _PLEASE_, please, please!"

Jaqulin gave her friend a wry grin. "Lottie…you know that doesn't work. You can't just wish on a star thinking…"

"Ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer shouted. "His Royal Highness, Prince Carter!"

Jaqulin and Charlotte both stared in awe as a well-dressed Prince Carter walked formally into the ball, waving at the citizens kindly. A wide smile spread across Charlotte's face while Jaqulin looked quizzically at the burning star above them. Charlotte wiped away the mascara from under her eyes with one of her napkins and then as a last minute touch-up, she added a beauty mark on her cheek with a marker.

Jaqulin couldn't help but stare at the young prince that walked in. As Charlotte flew down the stairs into his arms and as they started to dance, Jaqulin's eyes were fixated on the prince. She slowly descended down the stairs and walked back to her table, still gazing at Prince Carter. Something so familiar…

But the music touched Jaqulin's heart and she began to sway softly in rhythm. She didn't even realize that a horse was beside her swaying just the same. Then it spoke to her.

"Good evening, Jaqulin," it said. "Marvelous party."

Jaqulin jumped back a bit in surprise until the horse removed its head and revealed the Fenner brothers. "Oh, good evening, Mr. Fenner and…Mr. Fenner," she greeted.

"Mmm-mmm! I'm smellin' beignets!" the shorter Mr. Fenner declared.

"They're going to be the house specialty once I sign those papers you brought."

"Yes…" the skinnier Mr. Fenner said slowly. "About that…you were outbid."

Jaqulin felt like a sword had just been plunged through her heart and she went rigid. "What?" she breathed, narrowing her eyes. This had to be a joke—a very, very cruel joke at that.

"A fella came in offering a full amount of cash," the same Mr. Fenner explained. "'Less you can top his offer by Wednesday, you can kiss that place goodbye."

Anger bubbled up inside of Jaqulin and her temper flared immediately. "Are you crazy?! Do you even realize how long it took me to _raise _that money?!" she spat. "How am I supposed to top this guy's offer by _Wednesday_?!"

"Exactly!" Mr. Fenner said. "Which is why a woman of your background would've had her hands full with a big business like that."

"A woman of my _background_?" Jaqulin repeated heatedly.

"Yeah, you're better off where you are now." Mr. Fenner started to walk away while the other Mr. Fenner snatched up some beignets.

"Hey! Come back here!" Jaqulin grabbed the tail of the horse costume and pulled on it with all her might. "I'm not finished with you, you sick, cheating little…!" Suddenly, the tail ripped off the backside of the costume and sent Jaqulin hurtling backwards into the table, knocking all of her beignets onto her head. She rubbed her back from the impact of hitting the table and then stared after the Fenner brothers. She sighed hopelessly and dropped her head.

"Jaq! Time to get that prince charmed with your man-catching beig…" Charlotte started to say as she approached Jaqulin. But as soon as she saw Jaqulin on the ground covered in beignets, she became concerned. "What happened?"

"I…I…just…Lottie, I-I'm sorry…" Jaqulin began to apologize.

"Oh, you poor dear," Charlotte said, helping Jaqulin to her feet and leading her up the stairs. "Oh, Prince Carter! We'll be right back, sugar!" She looked back to Jaqulin. "I got just the dress for you."

* * *

A moment later, Charlotte was sitting at her vanity, primping. "Oh, Jaqulin, honey, did you see the way he danced with me?" she asked. "A marriage proposal can't be far behind! Thank you, evening star!" She danced slightly in her seat. "You know, I was taught to think that wishing on stars was just for"—she applied more mascara to her eyes—"babies an' crazy people." Charlotte noticed Jaqulin coming out of the dressing room in the reflection of the mirror. "Look at you. Aren't you as pretty as a magnolia in May?"

Jaqulin was now in a strapless sparkling light blue dress with white elbow gloves and a beautiful blue necklace to match. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a long ponytail, her soft curls still evident. But even in all her beauty, Jaqulin couldn't put a smile on her face. She wrapped her arms around the bed post and rested her head against it sadly.

Charlotte went to her with a tiara in hand and placed it on Jaqulin's head, completing the princess look. "Seems like only yesterday we both little girls, dreaming our fairytale dreams," she said. "And tonight, they're finally comin' true!"

Jaqulin glanced at Charlotte, wishing she could be happy for her friend.

"Whelp!" Charlotte adjusted her dress in the front. "Back into the fray! Wish me luck!" She scurried out the door. "Oh, Carter!"

Jaqulin stood alone in the room, overcome with emotion. She slipped out her restaurant picture and unfolded it, staring at the oranges and the yellows that she had hoped to paint the walls of her restaurant.

**Al…most…**

Jaqulin trudged towards the open balcony door.

**Almost there…**

She walked out onto the balcony into the moonlight, her arms drooping by her sides.

**People would come here from everywhere…**

Jaqulin leaned on the railing while staring at the picture.

**And I was al…most…**

"There," Jaqulin whispered, laying the picture down and covering her face with her gloved hands. She didn't know what to do anymore; she had done everything she could to get this far and now, it was slipping out of her hands. Then she remembered the evening star. Jaqulin lifted her eyes to the brilliant star, and then glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one was around.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Jaqulin muttered, looking at her picture. She held it to her chest like she had when she was a little girl and closed her eyes. "Please…please, please!" She opened her eyes and blinked a few times. When nothing else happened, Jaqulin held her head in her hand with her elbow propped up on the railing. She looked to the right and then did a double-take with a gasp.

A little green frog with unusual blue eyes sat beside her on the railing.

Jaqulin frowned at the star. "Ha ha…I didn't know stars had a sense of humor," she said humorlessly. She looked back at the frog with a sigh. "So what now? I'm guessing you're here for a kiss?"

"You know, a kiss doesn't sound half bad right about now," the frog replied.

Jaqulin stared incredulously at the frog for a minute before letting out a surprised cry and backing frantically away from the creature. She crashed into Charlotte's stuffed animal shelf, taking out the lamp in the process and dousing the room in darkness. She fell heavily to the ground along with stuffed animals of every kind.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, take it easy!" the frog cried, hopping down from the railing and into the doorway of the balcony. "I'm sorry, princess, I'm sorry! I didn't realize you had a fear of…AH!" A stuffed animal had been chucked at the frog and even more were being thrown at him by Jaqulin. "Wait, wait! Stop! Hey, hold up!" The frog leaned on a teddy bear and grinned. "You know, you have a very strong arm, princess." He ducked as yet another animal nearly clipped his head. "OK! Put. The monkey. Down!" Heedless of his warning, the frog was hit in the face with the monkey.

Jaqulin scrambled to her feet, grabbing a random book off the floor. "Stay back! Or I'll…! I'll…!" she stammered. She raised the book above her head.

"No, no, no, please!" the frog pleaded. He jumped up onto a dresser, falling flat on his behind. "Ha, whoa…uh, allow me to introduce myself." He stood up on his two long legs. "I am Prince Carter…"

Within seconds, the frog was smashed by the book in Jaqulin's hands.

"…of England," the frog finished in a strained voice.

Jaqulin hesitated to hit the frog yet again. "Prince…?" she repeated, her eyes flying to the evening star. "But I didn't wish for any…" She shook her head vigorously. "Hold on, wait a minute, wait a minute…if _you're _the prince…then _who _was that waltzing with Lottie on the dance floor?"

Carter shrugged. "All I know is that one minute I'm a prince, charming and handsome, cutting-a-rug," he explained while doing a little dance. "Next thing I know"--Carter stumbled over his feet and plopped back onto his behind—"I am tripping over _these_!" He held up a webbed foot.

Jaqulin held the book over her head threateningly.

Carter sat up and held his hands up defensively. "Wait, wait…wait!" he exclaimed when his eyes caught the title of the book Jaqulin held. "I know this story!"

Jaqulin glanced at the cover of the book. "'The Frog Prince?'" she said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Carter gestured for Jaqulin to lay the book down next to him. When she did, he propped it open. "My mother used to read this to me every night!" He found the page where the princess kissed the frog and turned it into a handsome prince, flipping it back and forth. "Yes, yes, yes! It all makes complete sense now!" Carter looked at Jaqulin. "You have to kiss me!"

"Um…wanna run that by me again?" Jaqulin asked irritably, placing a hand on her hip.

"You will enjoy it, guaranteed or call me a liar. All women enjoy the kiss of Prince Carter." Carter chuckled a bit. "Oh, I crack myself sometimes." He stood on two legs once more and stretched out his arms. "Come, fair princess. We kiss." He puckered his lips only to have his throat bulge out, making a croaking noise as it did so.

Jaqulin jumped back, repulsed.

Carter adjusted himself and cleared his throat. "That's a new feature," he smiled.

"Look…I'd _really _like to help you and everything, but there's just a little, tiny problem with this whole picture," Jaqulin stated.

"And that is…?" Carter urged.

"I just do _not _kiss frogs."

"Huh? But back on the balcony…you asked _me_."

"I didn't expect you to answer!"

"Aww, but you have to kiss me, princess! It's the only way I can become human again!" Carter scratched his head. "Alright, let me clue you in on something: besides being extremely handsome, I happen to come from a very wealthy family—you know, with a father just knighted and all. There has to be some kind of reward I can give you if you do this…or maybe a wish?"

Jaqulin's eyes wandered to the picture that had fallen to the floor and was taunted by its colors and loveliness. She grimaced as she looked back at Carter. "Just…one kiss?" she asked, signifying the "one" with her index finger.

"Just one, that's all," Carter reassured. "…Unless of course you really want another one." His long pink tongue slipped across his entire face.

Jaqulin shivered in disgust. She inhaled deeply and leaned forward towards Carter's puckered frog lips. But she opened one eye as she drew nearer, catching a glimpse of those slimy green lips. Jaqulin drew back and started dry-heaving while Carter refreshed his breath with some perfume.

"OK, Jaq, OK. You can do this, girl. It's just one kiss, just one small frog kiss. Just one, just one, just one." Jaqulin squeezed her eyes tightly shut and whipped around, planting her lips on Carter's.

Both of them were surrounded by a green light, similar to the one that had transformed Carter in the first place. But when the light faded, Jaqulin was gone and Carter realized that he was still a frog.

"Aww," Carter mumbled. He looked around, noticing that Jaqulin had somehow gone missing. He peeked over the side of the dresser and gasped sharply at what he saw. "Oh boy…"

"Well, you don't look all that different," Jaqulin remarked. "But how did you get way up there?! And…how did I get way down here in all this…?" Jaqulin held up part of her blue dress, only to discover a green hand holding it. She gasped. Her eyes flew to the small mirror beside her and found a frog with blue eyes staring back at her. Jaqulin let out the loudest shriek she had ever shrieked at the sight. Using her newly acquired frog legs, she leaped onto the dresser next to Carter.

"Easy there, princess…" Carter tried to calmly say.

"What did you do to me?!" Jaqulin cried, wrapping her arms about her. "I-I'm green a-and I'm slimy…!" She pressed her hand to her face and pulled it away, a trail of translucent sticky substance following her fingers.

"Actually, uh, princess, it's not slime," Carter explained.

"…What?"

"See, you're actually secreting mucus."

Jaqulin stared at Carter for a long time before she let out a cry of rage and tackled Carter off the dresser into the wall. They fall on top of a rocking horse only to be catapulted out the door by objects that had fallen from the shelf on the wall. The two frogs plummeted and landed on the drum sets below, which were nonchalantly being played by Dopey. But once the dwarf noticed the amphibians on the drums, he tried to hit them with his drum sticks, striking up a fast-paced rhythm. This in turn got the band started on the new song and the dancers began to dance even more.

Jaqulin and Carter clambered onto a cymbal right as Dopey whacked it, sending them flying through the air. Unfortunately, they slipped down into the back of Charlotte's dress. In response, Charlotte danced around and squirmed while trying to reach whatever was crawling around in her dress. She tripped over her big dress skirts and hit the ground, allowing Carter and Jaqulin a chance to escape. But as soon as Charlotte saw the two frogs resting on top of her, she emitted a shrill scream that caught the attention of Big Daddy La Bouff.

"Dodger!" Big Daddy shouted. "Get those frogs!"

Almost instantly, Dodger was pursuing Carter and Jaqulin, his fangs bared menacingly.

"Run!" Carter yelled.

"I can't run, you idiot, I'm a frog!" Jaqulin shot back.

"Then _hop_!"

Jaqulin and Carter hopped up onto the dining table and through the food and people, Dodger hot on their tails. Several people tried to stop the frogs as they passed, but the frogs were so quick and slippery, it was nearly impossible to grab them. One person even tried hitting them with his fake sword.

"This can't be happening, this can't be happening!" Jaqulin chanted as she and Carter continued to run from Dodger. "This is a dream, just a horrible, horrible dream!"

"Better wake up soon, princess, unless you want to be dinner!" Carter exclaimed. He noticed a bunch of balloons at the end of the table. "There! That's our ticket out of here!"

Dodger was so close now Jaqulin could feel his hot breath on her skin. Her heart was pounding rapidly in her chest, not knowing if she was going to live or die at this point. What would people think? She couldn't die as a frog! No one would know where she was and her father would be heart-broken. No, she couldn't be eaten by a dog!

"Wait, Dodger!" Jaqulin cried. They were nearing the balloons now. "Dodger, it's me! Jaqulin!" At that moment, Carter grabbed her hand and swung her up to the balloon strings as the balloons started to drift away from the table. Dodger had jumped up after them.

"Jaqulin?!" Dodger cried. He discontinued his intended bite and fell back to the ground.

"Dodger just said my name! That dog just spoke to me!" Jaqulin screamed.

"You know, if you're going to freak out about everything," Carter muttered, "this is going to be a very long night!"

Unbeknownst to the airborne frogs, Facilier was amongst the crowd with a mask hiding his face. But now, he removed the mask and an angry sneer formed. Prince Carter had escaped and there was only one person who could have let that happen. Facilier looked to his right and saw the human Prince Carter striding quickly to the small carriage house. A little chat seemed to be in order at this point.

* * *

**A/N: OK, well...personally, for me, I don't feel like this was my best, even though I worked on this for two days straight when I had the time. This is one of my favorite parts in the movie and I feel like I did a horrible job! I'm never sure if I got the personalities of Carter and Jaqulin down, it's so hard for me to tell. It's easier for Tomahawk and SHA because they've been working with these characters longer than I have. But I do hope you liked it at a little bit! :)**

**Alright, SHA, back to you!**

**~XxMollyStrifexX**


	7. Chapter 6: Nightmare in the Bayou

Prince Carter hurried to the cabinet and swung it open. He gasped in horror when he realized that the jar that had been holding the frog was now open. He bit his nails worriedly, knowing that he just made a horrible mistake. "Oh dear," Carter murmured. He looked over and saw Facilier standing right beside him.

"Oh! You're so quiet," Carter observed.

"You let him go?" Facilier spat, walking towards Carter, who backed away.

"Well, yes! The poor devil was gasping so I loosened the lid ever so slightly…"

Facilier's shadow crouched down behind Carter's shadow. Carter suddenly tripped and fell to the floor.

"Ow!" Carter cried. He glanced up and saw Facilier's shadow, which was laughing maliciously.

Carter grabbed his hair in frustration. "Oh, how did I get involved in this voodoo madness?!" He rose to his feet and pointed accusingly at Facilier. "I can't go through with this!" Carter ripped the amulet—the one containing the prince's blood—off from around his neck and instantly, he was transformed back into Carter's servant, Lawrence.

Facilier gave Lawrence a hardly amused look.

"You wear this…this ghastly thing!" Lawrence chucked the amulet at Facilier, who dove for it and caught it just before it could hit the floor.

"Careful with that!" Facilier shouted. He raised his fist in the air as if to strike Lawrence. "Anything happens to this, I'm gonna be…!" Facilier paused and sighed, lowering his hand. "Fun fact about voodoo, Larry: can't conjure a thing for myself." He wrapped his arm about Lawrence's shoulders. "Besides…you and I both know the real power in this world ain't magic." He gave Lawrence a little grin before gesturing to a massive painting of Big Daddy La Bouff. "It's money. Buckets of it."

Lawrence reflected on this a bit. "Well…that's true," he said thoughtfully.

"Aren't you tired of living on the margins while all those fat cats in their fancy cars don't give you so much of a sideway's glance?" Facilier asked in a menacing, contemptuous tone.

Lawrence frowned as he thought about Carter and his brutal immaturity. "Yes…I am!" he stated boldly.

Facilier grinned slyly as he pushed Lawrence to a mirror, put the amulet back around Lawrence's neck and returned his form to that of Carter. "Then all you have to do is marry Big Daddy's little princess," he said, "and we'll be splittin' that juicy La Bouff fortune right down the middle. Sixty-forty, like I said."

"Hmm, yes. But…what about Carter?"

"Your little slip-up"—Facilier whacked Lawrence upside the head—" will be a minor bump in the road," Facilier assured. He held up the amulet and watched the blood course through it with an eerie glow. "So long as we got the prince's blood in this."

At this, Lawrence chuckled. "Yes..." he agreed.

* * *

"_Voodoo_?!"

Jaqulin's voice echoed through the dark, rainy sky as she and Carter were suspended in the air by the colorful balloons from the masquerade.

"You mean to tell me that you went and got mixed up with Dr. Facilier?!" Jaqulin shouted up at Carter. "And _that's _why we're hanging in the air in the middle of nowhere from a few balloons?!"

"Hey, it's not my fault!" Carter retorted. "The guy was very charismatic!"

"Yeah, like the devil!" Jaqulin sighed. "This is what I get for wishing on stars. The only way to get what you want in this life is through hard work!" She pouted and looked away from Carter.

"Uh…aren't you a princess? Why would a princess need to work hard?"

"Huh? Oh. Yeah, just so you know, I'm not a princess. I'm a waitress."

"…What?! You're a…? Well, no wonder the kiss didn't work!"

"Well, you know what, Carter? I think the bare necessities really _did _get to your head, even after all this time! You haven't changed at all!"

Carter paused at this. "Did you say 'bare necessities?' I haven't heard that phrase since…"

"…Since you went on that little adventure with me six years ago. I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet, _Your Highness_."

Carter stared in shock at Jaqulin for a moment before returning to his original agitated state. "Either way, you lied to me, Jaqulin!" he yelled.

"Hey, pal, I never said I was a princess!"

"And you never said that you were a waitress! That would have been a nice little piece of information to have before I agreed to kiss you! I mean, you had the crown and everything, like a princess!"

"It's called a costume party," Jaqulin growled, "you spoiled little rich boy!"

Carter could only laugh coldly at this accusation. "Well, the egg is on _your _face, alright, because I don't have any riches! Nothing at all!"

"What?!"

"I am completely broke!"

Suddenly, one by one, the balloons started to pop as they hit some tree branches. Jaqulin's and Carter's eyes went wide when the last balloon popped and the strings went slack. Jaqulin was the first to plummet out of the sky and towards the dark bayou below. She fell through the trees, snapping a few small branches on the way down and falling through a spider's web. Right as she was about to plunge into the water, the webs snagged on a branch and prevented Jaqulin from even touching the surface.

"Phew!" Jaqulin exclaimed.

But her luck was not meant to last. Carter slammed into Jaqulin from above and they both splashed into the swamp water. Jaqulin burst out first before Carter could copy her actions and break the surface as well.

"You said you were extremely wealthy!" Jaqulin continued to chastise.

"That's where the egg comes in, see? _They're _the ones who are extremely wealthy, not me! They cut me off because I was being a—leech! Leech, leech!" Carter danced around trying to get the leech off of his arm.

Jaqulin snatched the blood-sucking creature and ripped it off. "Let me get this straight: you're broke and you have the gall to call _me _the liar?" Jaqulin said. She tossed the leech away only for a large fish to jump out and gulp it down. This frightened the two frogs and they leaped into the grass for cover. Carter landed on his stomach and Jaqulin tripped over him.

"I didn't lie!" Carter argued. "I fully intend—AHH!"

Carter and Jaqulin had looked up just in time to see a long-legged crane towering over them, the lightning flashing in the background as it shrieked. The frogs hopped away right as the bird dove at them hungrily—well, Carter hopped while Jaqulin chose to run on two legs.

"Run!" Jaqulin screamed.

The crane pursued the two frogs, anxious to have them as its meal.

"I fully intend to be rich again!" Carter explained as they tried to escape their predator. "Once I marry Charlotte La Bouff…if she'll have me!"

"You're a prince?" Jaqulin asked breathlessly.

"Obviously!" Carter responded.

"She'll have you!"

Just then, the ground ended and sent Jaqulin and Carter sliding down a muddy ravine. Both of them screamed all the way and even until they had been flung into the air when the slide ended. They crash-landed on a log—Jaqulin landing on her stomach and Carter landing square on his head.

"Alright then," Jaqulin said, trying to catch her breath. "Then once you two are married, you are going to keep your promise and get me the money to pay for my restaurant…right?" She jerked Carter back up onto the log after he nearly fell off from flipping over. "_Right_?"

"Hey, hey, hey, not so fast," Carter said. "I made that promise to a beautiful princess, not a cranky—why are those logs moving?"

Jaqulin followed Carter's gaze and realized that the logs _were _moving. But logs didn't have glowing yellow eyes with black slits in the middle for an iris.

"U-Uh…hate to be the bearer of bad news, Carter," Jaqulin remarked. "But those aren't logs."

"Oh…then what are they?"

"I don't think you want to know."

The "logs" drifted nearer and nearer to the log where Carter and Jaqulin sat watching nervously. The two frogs backed away from the water's edge until they were back-to-back. But then the log beneath them moved and rose from the water, causing Jaqulin to cry out in surprise. Carter and Jaqulin lifted their heads and discovered the head of an alligator, grinning widely and revealing his gruesome rows of sharp teeth.

The alligator laughed. "I got dibs on the big one," he said in a deep, raspy voice.

Then all at once, all of the alligators shot forward at Jaqulin and Carter. Jaqulin acted quickly and dashed into the water underneath the squandering bodies of the alligators. She pumped her new frog legs, swimming faster and more accurately than she ever had before. She discovered a hole in the trunk of a dead tree and ducked into it.

"Where'd they go?!" an alligator shouted.

"I saw him first!" another alligator yelled.

Jaqulin climbed to the top of the tree and peeked outside through another hole at the alligators thrashing through the water, looking for their meal.

"Come here, you plump, tasty morsel!"

Jaqulin panted heavily and looked around. She had lost Carter when she had leaped into the water. "Carter," she whispered, hoping he hadn't become a tasty dinner for one of those alligators.

"Psst!"

Jaqulin blinked and then regarded the spot where the noise had come from. She recognized Carter, pressed up against the tree trunk nervously.

"Lower the vine," Carter said quietly through clenched teeth and keeping as still as possible.

Almost instantly, Jaqulin's anger was rekindled. "After all you put me through?" Jaqulin hissed. "Find your own tree."

Carter made a face at Jaqulin. The lightning lit up the sky and revealed Carter's hiding place to the famished alligators.

"There he is!"

"I see him! I see him!"

Carter's jaw dropped when he heard that the gators had spotted him. Already they were slithering towards him. He looked up desperately at Jaqulin. "Alright, alright! If you help me get out of this swamp alive, I will get you your restaurant once I marry Charlotte!"

The alligators were so very close now.

"Mmm, you're gonna taste so good basted and battered and fried!" one alligator commented, licking his chops.

Carter grimaced at the thought. He had nowhere to run, but he looked around frantically for someplace to go. Then the vine dropped next to him and Carter didn't hesitate to grab it. He was lifted up and out of harm's way right before a gator could snap its jaws on him.

"Hurry, pull me up!" Carter cried.

"Big baby," Jaqulin muttered.

"You can hop, but you can't hide!"

"We got all night!"

The alligators cackled at this little joke.

"Well, Miss Strife, looks like we're going to be here for awhile," Carter said. "So we, uh, might as well get comfortable…"

A loud fist-to-the-arm sound rang out from inside the tree trunk and Carter groaned. Carter had forgotten that Jaqulin could hit that hard.

"Keep your slimy self away from me!" Jaqulin snarled.

"I already told you this, Jaq…"

"Don't call me 'Jaq'! It's _Jaqulin_."

"OK, fine, fine! I will tell you again, _Jaqulin_: it is not slime, it is _mucus_!"

Jaqulin could see a terribly long, dreadful night ahead of her.

* * *

**A/N: This had to be THE funnest scene to write ever!! Carter and Jaqulin are so cute as little green frogs. A little background on Carter and Jaqulin and the reason why they know each other: Tomahawk and I had written a Kingdom Hearts story with these two when they were about fifteen. So I continued this relationship between these two characters. Pretty fun, huh? Adds a little twist to the story and makes it unique. Has anyone guessed who Carter's parents are just yet? ;) **

**Alright, Tomahawk, time to work some magic!**

**~SHA**


	8. Chapter 7: A Gator with a Dream

Early the next morning, things had calmed down after the gator attack, and Carter and Jaqulin were both sleeping peacefully in the tree trunk they took refuge in. The two of them were resting on top of each other, Carter's arm wrapped around Jaq's shoulder. But it was Carter that stirred first.

"Mmm..." Carter stretched slightly, trying not to wake his partner up. "Hey...hey, Jaqulin?"

"Mmm, not now, Dad," Jaq grumbled.

"Jaq! Wake up, will ya?" Carter chuckled as he nudged Jaq awake.

Jaqulin awoke with a jolt, and skittered to the other side of the stump. "For Pete's sake, Carter, don't do that!" she panted, clutching her chest. "Are you TRYING to kill me?"

"No, just trying to wake you up," Carter shrugged. "By the way, you should play cards with your father more."

Jaqulin was flabbergasted by this statement. "Bu-wha-h-how did you...?"

"You talk in your sleep," Carter said, putting his arms behind his head and smirking. "It's kinda funny...for the first couple hours, at least."

"I...gah, forget it," Jaqulin shook her head as she hopped out. Carter simply shrugged as he let himself nod back off to sleep.

Back outside, Jaq finished tying together a few loose pieces of bark to make a raft. "There...that ought to do it," she wiped the mucus from her brow. "Alright, 'Your Highness', let's get a move-on!"

...No response.

"Carter?"

...Still nothing.

"Hey! Let's get back to New Orleans to undo this mess you got us into!"

...Well, it was worth trying.

"Ugh, I don't believe this," Jaqulin shook her head and covering her eyes. "Ugh, it was bad enough he nearly got me killed six years ago. Now he gets me turned into a frog, and he's sleeping on the job. Unbelievable. How am I...?"

Something caught Jaq's eye. It was a woodpecker with blue feathers, and a red-feathered head, flying through the trees and whistling a merry tune. Jaqulin rubbed her chin...and got an idea.

"Excuse me?"

The woodpecker looked down and spotted Jaq on the raft. Smiling, he lazily spiraled down and landed on a wayward branch. "Woody Woodpecker, at your service," the woodpecker bowed gracefully. "What's up?"

"Listen, I need you to do me a favor," Jaqulin explained. "There's this friend of mine that's sleeping in that log over there."

Woody flitted over to the tree and peered inside, only to find Carter asleep. "Awww, isn't he just precious?" Woody quipped.

"Yeah, sure," Jaq grumbled. "A-Anyway, could you wake him up for me, please?"

"So you can keep the chapter going? No problem-o!" Woody nodded.

So the woodpecker positioned himself on the side of the tree, digging his talons into the bark. He squared up where his beak would go, and leaned back. And without any sort of warning, Woody went back and forth fiercely, chipping at the trunk and rattling Carter awake.

"Wh-wh-wh-wh-what's g-g-g-g-going on?" Carter asked.

"Alright, he's awake, Woody," Jaq called. "You can stop now!"

Woody aptly stopped, and saw Carter lean over the edge groggily. "Morning, Sleeping Beauty," Woody chuckled. "Have a nice nap?"

Carter looked to Woody, and then to Jaq. "Very funny," he said, resting his chin on one arm and drumming the tree with the other.

"I do what I can," Jaq smirked. "Okay, Woody, your work here's done! Thank you!"

"Sure, sure!" Woody grinned as he flew off into the bayou, laughing uproariously. Carter, and even Jaq, cringed at his laughter.

"Now come on, Carter," Jaq instructed as she snapped a tree branch off. "We have to get back to New Orleans and undo this mess that YOU got us into!"

Carter jumped onto the little raft and smirked as he said, "I'm not the one who lied about being a princess, you know." He picked off a branch with a few spider webs and began to play it like his ukulele. "Ahh...sweet river music."

"I could use some help, you know," Jaq grunted as she rowed the little raft along.

Carter stopped playing and thought for a moment. "Hmm...guess I could play a little louder." Carter went back to playing, putting more oomph into his strums. Jaq rolled her eyes as the raft continued to glide downstream.

Unbeknownst to the both of them, however, something was slowly and quietly creeping up behind them. A pair of beady little eyes slowly rose from the murky water, closing in on the duo second by second. It eyed the two frogs hungrily as it glided closer and closer.

"How about you put that branch down and help me...?" Jaq turned to see the eyes right behind the two of them. "Carter, watch out!"

Carter stopped and saw another alligator about to chomp down with its giant jaws. "Oh, not again!" He jumped up and held Jaq close to him, ready to face his fate. But instead of hearing the jaws snap, the duo heard something else.

"I know that tune! Tippermouth Blues!"

The two of them still weren't convinced that the alligator was friendly. But what they heard next caught Carter's ear; this particular gator had a trumpet on him! And he was playing the same tune as Carter was a moment ago! A grin stretched across Carter's face as he dropped Jaq.

"Play it, brother!" he cheered as he picked up his twig ukulele and strummed along to the alligator. The two played as Jaq, watching from the floor, looked on out of one eye. Carter hopped up onto the alligator's head as he finished playing his trumpet.

"HAAAAA-HA!" the alligator laughed. He took Carter off his head and danced in place, swinging the little frog as he did. "Where you been all my life?"

"That was incredible!" Carter laughed. "Where did you learn how to play so well?"

The alligator set Carter down as he flashed a giant, toothy grin. "Well, the bayou's the greatest jazz school in the woild!" he said as he spun his little golden trumpet. "All the greats play the riverboats every night! Ol' Louis'd give ANYTHING to be up there...with my sweet Giselle...jammin' with the Big Boys."

"You have the talent for it," Carter said. "Why don't you?"

"Oh, well, I tried once..." Louis explained.

It turned out that Louis DID try to play with the Big Boys once; he had snuck on board a giant riverboat where a jazz band was performing, and attempted to ad-lib with his own trumpet. Needless to say, Louis was met with screams...of fear. And gunshots.

"...It didn't end well," Louis glowered.

"Huh...sorry to hear that," Jaqulin said simply, not totally caring. "Well, it was great meeting you, uh...Louis, was it? Oh, and thanks for not making us your lunch. But, um, we gotta get going!"

"Wha? Where y'all goin'?" Louis asked.

"To find someone who can break this spell," Jaq replied.

"What spell?" Louis looked confused at this point.

"Okay, okay, you're not gonna believe this," Carter grinned. "We're not REALLY frogs. Believe it or not...we're humans!"

"Wha-" Louis couldn't help but burst into uncontrollable laughter, falling onto the earth and letting his laughter take control of him. He took a deep breath and said, "...Y'all serious?"

"My name is Carter Smith, prince of England," Carter introduced himself. "And that's Jaqulin...an old friend of mine who's a waitress." Carter leaned over to Louis and whispered, "Don't kiss her."

Unfortunately, Jaq heard Carter and turned angrily. "Shut up!" she snapped. "Look, this deluded little rich boy got turned into a frog by a voodoo conman, and he turned..."

"Voodoo?" Louis reeled back in fear. "You mean like the kind Mama Odie do?"

Jaq and Carter looked at each other in confusion. "...Say again?" Carter asked.

"Mama Odie!" Louis said. "She's the voodoo queen of the bayou! She's got magic, and spells...all KINDS of hoodoo." As Louis said all this, he balanced his trumpet on his tail while making sweeping hand motions.

"Wait a minute...that's it!" Jaq smiled. "Listen, Louis, could you take me and Carter to this Mama Odie?"

Louis gasped in fear. "You mean take you down to the deepest, darkest part of the bayou? Facin' razor-sharp pricker bushes? And trappers? And HUNTERS? WITH GUNS? ...No."

And with that, Louis slid down a treetrunk and played a slow, somber tune on his trumpet.

Jaqulin looked distraught. "Great. Our one chance at getting out of this is..."

"Wait," Carter said. "I have an idea..." Carter sauntered up to Louis casually. "You know, it's too bad we can't help you dream come true, Louis. I mean, hey, you're a GREAT jazz musician. But if you were just a little smaller, and less toothy..." Carter showed off Louis' rows of teeth to prove a point. "You could play jazz to crowds all over the country! And you wouldn't scare a soul."

Louis' eyes popped open at the sound of "wouldn't scare a soul."

"Well, sorry we can't help you, friend," Carter shrugged. "So long!"

"Cute," Jaq crossed her arms and looked askance. "But what makes you so sure that'll...?"

"3...2..." Carter pointed behind them, and Louis came rushing up.

"Hey, hey guys! I just had me a crazy idea!" Louis said excitedly. "What if I asked Mama Odie to turn ME human, too?"

"Does that mean you'll take us there?" Jaqulin asked hopefully.

"You better believe it!" Louis nodded excitedly.

"Louis, I gotta hand it to you," Carter said as he and Jaq hopped onto the top of Louis'

head. "You're quite the genius."

"Haaaaaa-leLUJAH!" Louis cannon-balled into the river, drifting along with Carter and Jaq in tow. He played a cheerful Dixieland tune on his trumpet, and burst into song:

**If I were a human bein'...**

**I'd head straight, for New Orleans...**

Louis balanced himself on his tail as he pointed his trumpet in the direction of New Orleans.

**And I'd blow this horn, so hard and strong,**

**Like no one had ever seen!**

**You've heard of Louis Armstrong...**

Louis took a leaf and wiped the sweat off his face with a giant toothy grin. Carter swung to the beat of the song as Jaq seemed uninterested.

**Mister Sydney Bechet...**

**All those boys, gonna step aside,**

**When they hear that song that's gator-playin',**

**Listen!**

With his trumpet in hand, Louis played a bouncy, uplifting tune as he hopped across the rocks, even bouncing on his tail and spinning in place. Carter, getting into the groove himself, created another ukulele out of a spider web and a twig, and played along as Louis swung on a branch by his tail, coming down on the duo. Then, he rose out of the water, with Carter, Jaq, and the turtle on his head.

**When I'm human...**

**As I hope to be!**

Louis jumped on a log and danced on it, making it spin.

**I'm gonna blow this horn,**

**'Til the cows come home!**

**And everyone's gonna bow down to me...**

Louis tossed the turtle and hung it on a nearby branch. "Thank you, thank you!" Louis blew a few kisses to an imaginary crowd. "Aww, thank you! I love you, too, baby!"

The turtle, dazed from its little "flight," got a rude awakening when Louis blared his horn right into its face as he sauntered along. Strumming on his ukulele, Carter took the lead in the song:

**When I'm myself again, I want just the life I had...**

**A great big party, ev'ry night...**

Carter grabbed a nearby branch with flowers blooming and shook it, scattering petals everywhere.

**That doesn't sound too bad!**

"Ugh," Jaq rolled her eyes.

**A redhead on my left arm...**

A red butterfly sauntered up to Carter and leaned on his left side.

**A brunette on my right...**

Now a brown butterfly did the same on his right side.

**A blonde or two to hold the candles,**

A group of yellowish butterflies lined up and formed a chorus line, dancing to Carter's singing as he jumped in the air.

**And that seems just about right,**

**Eh, Louis?**

**Life is short, when you're done, you're done,**

**We're on this earth, to have some fun!**

Carter landed on Louis' head as he sang,

**And that's the way things are...**

"Tell it, brother!" Louis grinned.

**When I'm human...**

**And I'm gonna be...**

Jaqulin struggled to find traction on a log that Louis was parading on, finally jumping and climbing onto Louis' tail.

**I'm gonna tear it up, like I did before!**

**That's a royal guarantee!**

"Did you forget that you're getting married?" Jaqulin grunted as she shooed away the butterflies with a twig.

"Oh, that's right," Carter sighed. "Well, I hate to break a few hearts, but..."

Jaq cut Carter off as she took a turn to sing:

**Your modesty becomes you, and your sense of responsibility,**

**I've worked hard for ev'rything I've got!**

Jaq snapped a twig off from a tree and rowed downstream, while Carter took his twig and played Louis' scales.

**And that's the way it's supposed to be!**

**When I'm a human being...**

**At least I'll act like one!**

Jaqulin quickly hopped onto a nearby stone and lifted a branch out of Louis' way (Louis himself wasn't paying attention to where he was floating). Then, Jaq had to steer Louis out of the way of a dead tree.

**If you do your best each and ev'ry day!**

**Good things are sure to come your way!**

**What'cha give is what'cha get!**

Jaq steered Louis clear of every obstacle that came in the crew's way.

**My mother said that and I'll never forget!**

**And I commend it to you...**

Jaqulin turned to see Carter drumming his own head goofily. Now, all three of them sang:

**When we're human...**

**And we're gonna be!**

Louis: **I'm gonna blow my horn!**

Louis played a quick, breezy number on his trumpet before leaning back into the water.

Carter: **I'm gonna live the high life!**

Carter sprang off of Louis' tail and played a few quick riffs on his ukulele.

Jaqulin: **I'm gonna do my best to take my place, in the suuun!**

All of a sudden, things came to a grinding halt as Louis was stuck from the waist down in between a split tree trunk.

**Wheeeeeen weeeeeee're...**

Jaqulin took a branch with a few strands of cobweb and dangled it in front of Louis' nose. Louis himself took a few breaths in...

**Humaaaaaaaaaaaaan!**

...And with a mighty sneeze, sent himself, Carter and Jaqulin hopping down the open water, playing his trumpet as he skipped across the surface like a stone.

* * *

**A/N: Phew, sorry for the delay, folks! Real life can be a real pain sometimes, I know...but, hey, this was well worth it!**

**Anyway, I decided to throw in a little Woody Woodpecker cameo for the fun of it; that, and to make this stand out more from the original version. I dunno, I thought it'd be kind of funny...hope you think the same thing!**

**Alright, Molly, you're next up!**

**~Tomahawk41**


	9. Chapter 8: We're Gonna Take You There

Meanwhile, back in the jazzy town of New Orleans, Charlotte La Bouff and Prince Carter—or rather, Lawrence—were enjoying a glass of champagne out in the flowery, white gazebo. Charlotte was still going on about the happenings of the previous evening.

"Oh, Prince Carter, dear," Charlotte said. "I am positively mortified you had to endure that frog fiasco last night."

Prince Carter smirked at Charlotte. "Well, when you're next in line for the throne, you're poised like a panther," he replied. He crouched slightly over the table and moved his shoulders up and down alternately like a feline ready to pounce. "Ready to expect the unexpected." He grabbed his fork and made a cat-like gesture at Charlotte while growling.

Charlotte giggled and returned the gesture with a flirtatious growl of her own.

Prince Carter pulled back, still growling, when his left ear popped out to an enormous size. (You could say it was an ear of Lawrence-sized proportions).

Charlotte's blue eyes went wide. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Y-Your ear?"

"What?" Prince Carter nonchalantly reached up to his ear and once he felt it, realization struck him. "Oh!" He ducked behind the table and whipped the talisman out from under his shirt to take a look at it. To his horror, the blood level inside the talisman was dropping considerably fast and terribly low. He didn't have much time. With a shiver, Prince Carter shot back up into his seat while holding his ear. "Oh, those pesky mosquitoes." He pretended to swat the invisible insects away.

Charlotte grinned with a short laugh, not really understanding why Prince Carter was acting so strange all of a sudden.

Prince Carter chuckled nervously. "They're everywhere," he stated. "Please." Without warning, he snatched Charlotte's arm and yanked her out of her chair as he rose to his feet. "Miss Charlotte, I can no longer ignore the throbbing of my…"

Just then, Prince Carter's rear end ballooned out to a horrific size that really didn't belong to Carter.

Prince Carter side-glanced his behind before quickly returning his gaze to Charlotte, who had an eyebrow raised. "…heart," he finished. He embraced Charlotte and held her close. "Even though our time together has been brief…" Prince Carter dipped Charlotte down, gazing into her eyes and making her giggle. "…It's been heavenly."

Charlotte jerked away from Prince Carter and pushed him off of her. Her hat fell into her face. "Land sakes, Carter!" she exclaimed. She didn't see the face on Carter become rounder and pudgier as she tried to compose herself. "You got me blushin' like a—oh!"

Prince Carter, who had covered his distorted face with the folds of Charlotte's red dress, had wrapped his arms about Charlotte's legs and was now looking up at the blonde girl. "Would you do me the honor of becoming the Princess of England?" he asked, almost begging.

Charlotte's face lit up when she heard these words. She shoved Prince Carter away and went to the edge of the gazebo, barely believing what he had just asked her. "Are you serious?" she breathed.

Prince Carter jumped to his feet, tugged his shirt collar over his face and raised his right hand. "As the plague," he answered.

"YES!" Charlotte cried, practically tackling Prince Carter in a bone-crushing hug. She pushed him against the railing of the gazebo and jumped animatedly. "Oh, I most definitely will marry you!"

Prince Carter grabbed some of the purples flowers hanging from the roof of the gazebo to hide his face, but Charlotte seized them in her excitement. She didn't even notice how Prince Carter's body shape changed back to that of Lawrence.

"Oh, there's so much to plan!" Charlotte screamed as she began to walk back to the house. "I mean the guest list, the dress, the music, the flowers, the shoes…" She whirled around and squealed with glee.

Out of fear of being seen, Prince Carter dove behind the table.

"We're gonna have ourselves a Mardi Gras wedding!" Charlotte skipped away happily, swinging the purple flowers in her hand.

Prince Carter peeked over the table, trembling. When the bubbly young woman was out of sight, he let out a relieved sigh. Suddenly, a shadow cast over him and with a gasp, Prince Carter glanced up. He recognized Dr. Facilier.

The witch doctor reached down and clutched the talisman in his scrawny hand, which shook violently with anger when he saw that the blood had completely emptied. "No!" he snarled.

Prince Carter's raven-black hair snapped back into Lawrence's barely-there grey hair and sideburns. The transformation had ended and now Carter's servant stood before Facilier. "What do we do now?" he stammered.

"Because somebody let our froggy prince go, Larry," Facilier said accusingly. He released the talisman. "I'm reduced to asking for help from my friends on the other side…"

* * *

"Now this restaurant of yours, is it going to have etouffee?" Louis asked. He, Jaqulin and Carter were moving smoothly through the bayou in the dark waters, Jaqulin on Louis's back and Carter on the gator's snout.

Jaqulin grinned. "Jumbalaya, gumbo…maybe even a little French cuisine to mix things up a little," she said. "It's gonna have it all." Her sky blue eyes lit up when she thought about her dream.

"Mmmm-mmm! I've always wanted to try red beans and rice, muffulettas, po' boys…"

Carter held up his hands. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up, Louis," he said. "Both of you are making me hungry." Just then, a small swarm of insects flew by Carter's face. Out of pure instinct, his pink tongue shot out feebly in their direction. Carter raised an eyebrow. "Interesting…" With that, he leaped off Louis's nose and into the water.

Jaqulin looked over her shoulder and shot Carter a funny look. "What are you up to now?" she asked.

Carter tiptoed towards the bugs slowly. "Shh!" he said. "You are frightening the food." He fired his tongue at the insects only for it to boomerang back and smack him in the face, causing him to topple over into the water. He laughed. "Eh, alright. So it's not as easy as it looks." Carter sprang to his feet and once more he tried to catch an insect—only this time, it snagged a small tree branch. The branch came loose and followed Carter's frog tongue back to his mouth, again making him fall over.

Jaqulin chuckled a bit at the sight. She gasped a bit when a little bug zipped by her and landed nearby on a dandelion. Like Carter's tongue had done, Jaqulin's reacted to the possible food source. "What?" Jaqulin said sharply. "Oh, no. No, no, no! There is _no _way I am kissing a frog and ingesting a bug on the same day."

But Jaqulin's tongue had other plans. It reached for the bug, dragging Jaqulin along with it while she cried out in protest. "No, no, no!" she yelled. She tried covering her mouth, but it was no use.

Carter managed to pull the branch out of his mouth with his strong frog legs. His eyes caught the bug on the dandelion and immediately, he stalked towards it. Little did he know that Jaqulin was close by, fighting not to have the urges to eat a bug.

Carter aimed and shot at the bug while at the same time, Jaqulin's tongue involuntarily went for the same bug. Unfortunately, the little insect moved aside just as both tongues reached its former perch. Even more unfortunate, the two tongues became tangled and both Jaqulin and Carter were thrown towards each other. Their bodies slammed into one another and they fell back into the water—with their mouths locked on each other's.

Carter chuckled nervously. "Uh…hey there, Jaq," he greeted in a muffled voice.

Jaqulin scrambled to her feet, pulling Carter with her. "Hold still!" she barked, her voice also muffled.

"Argh, stop moving!" Carter shot back. "You're making this harder than it needs to be!"

Louis burst out from behind the tall grass. "Y'all find anything to eat yet?" he asked. When he saw Jaqulin and Carter below him with their tongues tied, he couldn't help but give them a questioning look. "Oh, my." Getting over his initial shock, Louis lunged forward and snatched up the two frogs. "Hold on. Old Louis got this covered." He started mashing Jaqulin and Carter together.

"No, no!" Carter cried.

"Louis, stop! Don't!" Jaqulin piped up.

Despite their pleas, Louis continued fumbling around with the amphibians, thinking he was doing them some good. Finally, he placed Jaqulin and Carter back in the water—though their current dilemma was far from better. In fact, it was much worse.

"How's that?" Louis questioned.

Jaqulin and Carter were completely tangled up in each other's tongues now, neither of them able to move.

"Well," Jaqulin said, her voice still muffled, "it could be a little better."

Louis tapped his chin in thought. "You know what this needs? A sharp stick! Be right back!" The large gator scampered off through the grass once more, scatting as he did so.

Jaqulin glared at Carter as best as she could. "This is all your fault," she said flatly.

"My fault?" Carter repeated in disbelief. "My fault, my fault, my fault. Everything is _always _my fault, isn't it, Jaqulin? Let me tell you something, I was having a fabulous time before you started letting your tongue go all over the place!"

"A fabulous time catching bugs for dinner? Sounds like a party."

"You know what? I'm getting really sick of your…"

"Stop pushing me! Do you ever think of anyone else but your…?"

"Coo! Well, looky here!" an unfamiliar voice exclaimed.

Jaqulin and Carter's argument died off when they saw the bug they had tried to catch earlier. The bug had chipped teeth and strands of red hair on his head, giving him a hillbilly sort of air.

"Girl, I guess you and your boyfriend got a little carried away. Am I right, am I right?" The insect nudged Jaqulin suggestively.

"Oh, no, no!" Jaqulin instantly replied.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Carter added.

"This creep isn't my boyfriend!"

"I am the Prince of England!"

The bug hooted as he flew of the heads of the frogs. "Let me shine a little light on the situation," he said. He clenched his fists and grunted, which resulted in small flatulence. "Oops, 'scuse me. One more time now." He shook his abdomen and watched as it glowed dimly for awhile, but then fade. Unsatisfied, the bug reached behind him and screwed his abdomen tighter like a light bulb. Light lit up the darkness, revealing the bug as a firefly.

"That's more better, yeah!" He returned to the frogs. "It's okay, baby. I don't explode me," he reassured. "I ain't no firecracker! I just got my big butt glowin'! That's right! Women like a man with a big back porch!" The firefly patted his glowing behind and cackled with delight. "Lord, you done this up real good, for sure." He inspected the situation. "Now where this go to at?"

Jaqulin and Carter squirmed uncomfortably.

"Hang on, Cap," the firefly said. "I'm just going to give a little twist here." With that, he squeezed himself in between Jaqulin and Carter, making them cry out in surprise. "We're getting to know each other now!" He whooped as light shined even brighter from in between the frogs. The firefly began to sing a merry tune as he did his work:

**Won't you catch a fish?**

**Catch one, catch two**

The firefly emerged from his project with a tongue in tow, finishing up his song.

**We're back in the bayou 'round fishin' time**

The firefly let go of the tongue simply. The tongues unraveled, releasing Carter and Jaqulin from the entanglement.

"'Bout time I introduced myself," the firefly announced. "My name is Raymond." He spelled the name "Raymond" in the air with his light. "But everybody call me 'Ray'." With a little swing of his abdomen, the "mond" disappeared and spelled only "Ray."

Carter rubbed the back of his head. "Uh, sorry," he said. "But that accent…it's a bit…funny, you know what I mean?"

"Well, I'm a Cajun, brah!" Ray replied. "Born and bred in the bayou. Y'all must be new around here, huh?"

Jaqulin managed to get her tongue back under control and back where it belonged. She then turned her attention to Ray.

"Actually, both of us are from a place far, far away from this world," Carter explained. He flicked the excess water from his hands.

"Go to bed!" Ray cried. "Y'all from Shreveport?"

"Eh…heh, um…no. No, actually…Jaqulin and I here are people."

Jaqulin put her hands on her hips. "We _were _people before Prince Charming here got himself turned into a frog by a voodoo witch doctor," she said matter-of-factly.

When Ray looked at Carter, Carter merely smiled and shrugged.

"Well, there ya go!" Ray proclaimed.

"And we were on our way to Mama Odie's," Jaqulin continued. "We think maybe she can…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Ray glided over to Jaqulin. "Mama Odie? Y'all headed in the wrong directional, chere! Now what kind of chucklehead told y'all to go this-a way?"

At that moment, yet again, Louis came running from the foliage with a stick in his hand. "I found a stick!" he announced, a gator grin on his face.

Jaqulin and Carter stared at the gigantic reptile before Jaqulin folded her arms and tapped her foot. She narrowed her blue eyes dangerously.

"Louis," Jaqulin said in a scolding tone. "Ray here says you've been taking us in the wrong direction." She jutted out her chin with a reproving look at the gator. "I'm ready for an explanation."

Louis chuckled nervously. "Believe me! I was all confused by the topography a-and the geography and the choreography…" he rambled.

Ray leaned close to Jaqulin's ear. "First rule of the bayou, never take direction from a gator," he whispered. He brought his fingers to his mouth and let out a whistle. "Why, me and my relationals will help show y'all the way!"

Jaqulin and Carter watched in awe as the trees in front of them lit up with lights of thousands of lightning bugs. The darkness suddenly didn't seem so dark and cold anymore with such brilliance before them.

"Amazing!" Carter declared.

Jaqulin's eyes shimmered in the radiant light surrounding them, bringing out the magnificent blue that they were. A smile graced her frog lips. "Wow," she whispered. "I don't think I've ever seen anything so beautiful."

"Hey, Cousin Randy!" Ray called, flying up to a group of fireflies. "You ready for a little bayou zydeco?"

"Ready when you are, Cousin Ray!" Randy replied as he and the other fireflies readied their instruments.

Ray picked up a small red caterpillar, treating it like an accordion. "Alright, Lulu," he said. "Let's get to it, darlin'." He started playing an upbeat tune.

Almost on signal, all of the fireflies left the trees, creating a comet of glorious light. Carter and Jaqulin watched from the lily pad in awe at the beauty that neither of them had ever witnessed.

"Come on, chere!" Ray beckoned. "Just follow the bouncing butt!"

Jaqulin giggled. Carter bounced slightly to the fun and happy music. Ray began to sing an inspiring, uplifting song as he and the fireflies lit up the way.

**We're gonna take you there**

**We're gonna take you there**

**We're gonna take you all the way there**

**Gonna take you there**

**We're gonna take you there**

Jaqulin smiled brightly and hopped after the fireflies, leaving Carter behind only for a moment to dance by himself before grabbing his arm and taking him with her.

**We're gonna take you all the way!**

Louis shuffled along cheerfully in the line of the lightning bugs, thoroughly enjoying the bayou music.

**Oh yeah!**

**Goin' down the bayou**

**Goin' down the bayou**

**Goin' down the bayou**

**Takin' you all the way**

Louis tried to follow the fireflies into a log, but ended with his head stuck inside. Nevertheless, the gator continued dancing along with the log lodged on his head.

"We got the whole family!" Ray hooted. "There goes Mimi, Cousin Beaudreaux." He noticed an elderly firefly fluttering by with a walker in hand. "Oh, Grandmama! Your light out!"

"Hmm?" the older bug hummed. She clapped her hands twice and her behind lit up like everyone else's.

"Nifty," Carter remarked to Jaqulin as they hopped along beneath the myriads of lights.

**We all gonna pull together**

**Down here that's how we do **

**Me for them**

**And them for me**

Suddenly, Jaqulin and Carter were once again surrounded by darkness. Ray took notice and whistled to get the fireflies' attention. Arches of light filed down a row of lily pads, again filling the dark space with the brightness that matched the sun. Confidently now, Carter and Jaqulin jumped from lily pad to lily pad, laughing as they did so.

**We all be there for you **

**We gon' take ya**

**We gon' take ya**

A few fireflies formed a propeller on Louis's tail, making him skid across the surface of the water without a problem. But the bugs eventually flitted away and left Louis to sink into the water.

**We know where you're goin'**

**And we're goin' with you**

**Takin' you all the way!**

**Goin' down the bayou**

**Goin' down the bayou**

**Goin' down the bayou**

**Takin' you alllll…**

The fireflies spiraled up into the sky with Ray in the lead.

"Yeah, you know!" Ray exclaimed.

The bugs soared up before creating an explosion similar to a grand firework display. Ray dove back down and zipped forward once again, followed by all the other thousands of bugs.

"Come on, y'all!" Ray cried. "Keep that line flowin' and the lights a-glowin'! Yeah, you're right!"

Jaqulin and Carter had found their way back to Louis and now traveled upon the gator's head while following the light trail that would soon lead them to the mysterious Mama Odie. Both Carter and Jaqulin had high hopes in their hearts. They wanted nothing more than to be human again so they could forget about everything and go back to how things were supposed to be.

* * *

**A/N: Hey, XxMollyStrifexX here. Even though it took me forever to get this chapter done, I had tons of fun with it. It's fun to work with Carter and Jaqulin as characters that already know each other, but currently can't stand each other at this point. Also, Ray is one my most favorite characters from this movie...I'm really glad Shadow Heart Alchemist decided to keep him and a few of the original characters as well. Speaking of SHA, it's her turn to continue this story. I hope I didn't do too bad!**

**XxMollyStrifexX**


	10. Chapter 9: Of Frogs and Gumbo

**Another disclaimer: I do not own any of the original "The Princess and the Frog" characters nor do I own "Ed, Edd, n' Eddy". Jaqulin belongs to SHA and Carter belongs to Tomahawk41. The majority of the script and storyline purely belongs to Disney. I do not claim to have to any authority over it! Thank you!**

* * *

"Friends! I know I'm in hock to y'all pretty deep already…" Facilier stood before the numerous shadow voodoo masks on the wall of his parlor with his top hat in hand, showing off his wild dark hair. "But seems our little froggy prince lost his way…and I need your generous assistance getting him back.

The masks made it clear that they didn't approve of this notion. Their glowing eyes narrowed dangerously as they studied the man before them.

Facilier laughed nonchalantly, trying to brush off their evil glares. "I hear ya!" He replied his hat and composed himself in a businesslike manner. "Now, what's in it for y'all? Well…" Facilier reached inside of his jacket and produced a doll replica of Big Daddy La Bouff, inching a needle towards the heart sewn on the doll's jacket. "...As soon as I dispose of Big Daddy La Bouff and _I'm _runnin' this town…"

The witch doctor swept his arm around full circle and a hologram of the city of New Orleans appeared beneath his feet. Dr. Facilier chuckled maliciously. Then he swung his hand up, taking the hologram with it.

"I'll have the entire city of New Orleans in the palm of my hand," Facilier continued. He unfolded his hand and revealed a smaller hologram of New Orleans, with people bustling around inside it, in his palm. Facilier raised his hand to eye level. "And you'll have all wayward souls your dark little hearts desire." With a gentle blow into the city, the citizens became souls that rushed forward with anguished screams.

The souls were inhaled by the largest mask and it grinned wickedly as if the very idea soothed its previous anger at Facilier's proposal.

"Y'all love that, don't you?" Facilier chortled, knowing he got his "friends" right where he wanted them. "So…we got ourselves a deal?"

The big mask exchanged confirming glances with the other masks, and then finally opened its mouth, allowing black shadows to drip out of the green abyss through its teeth. The shadows shrieked and howled as they soared through the parlor and around Dr. Facilier's feet until they completely surrounded the witch doctor.

Dr. Facilier laughed and punched the air. "Now we're cookin'!" he exclaimed. "We're going to find ourselves a frog! Search everywhere! The bayou, the Quarter. Bring him to me alive. I need his heart pumping…for now." Then, shouting in French, Facilier slammed his cane to the floor and gestured to the front door. He laughed as the shadows escaped through the door and the windows.

The devilish things glided through New Orleans unbeknownst to the townspeople, sailing over buildings and pouncing on the shadows of lamps and fences. They were out to find a certain frog prince—and while the moon was high and the darkness abundant, they weren't going to stop until they had his shadow in their claws.

* * *

"I'll take 'em the rest of the way!" Ray said to his family of fireflies. He and his three new friends had reached solid ground and now they had to say goodbye.

Jaqulin waved at the lightning bugs. "Nice meeting you all!" she exclaimed.

"I had a de-LIGHT-ful time!" Carter added.

Jaqulin sobered at Carter's remark and sighed deeply. "We're going to work on that."

Carter shrugged. "What?"

"Bye bye, Pookie!" Louis called, waving.

Ray hung back a bit and said his goodbyes to his friends and family. Every once in awhile he spoke French to them and they'd respond. It was a fascinating thing to listen to, Jaqulin thought. She wished she had a big family to have little reunions with every now and again. The only family she had besides her father, who had no siblings, was her two cousins Edward and Alphonse Elric and even then, she didn't see them very often.

"And don't forget to tell Angela, Ray-Ray say, 'Bonne chance!'" Ray said as the fireflies floated away back down the bayou.

Jaqulin stopped hopping and glanced back at Ray, giving him a sly grin. "Oooh, Ray…is that your girl?" she asked.

"Oh, no, no," Ray replied. He followed behind Jaqulin as she continued jumping along. "My girl? Ho, ho, ho. That's Evangeline."

"Evangeline?"

"She the most prettiest firefly ever did glow." Ray squealed with delight, making Jaqulin giggle a bit. "You know, I talk to Evangeline most every night. She's a bit shy. Don't say much. But I know in my heart, someday we are going to be together. Yeah." Ray floated up behind a heart-shaped leave and let his light glow, giving the leave a soft pink color.

Jaqulin stopped to look up at him, her eyes twinkling. "Aww. That's so sweet, Ray," she said softly.

"Ahem…uh, yeah, so sweet," Carter remarked. "Just take my advice, Ray. Don't settle down too fast or you might miss all the fun and excitement from meeting new girls, know what I mean? There are plenty of fireflies in the swamp."

Jaqulin rolled her eyes with an inward groan and leaped over Carter's head, picking up a stick to whack the leaves of a bush out of her way.

"What?" Carter asked yet again. He shrugged and followed his former friend through the bush.

Louis took a step forward to follow his frog friends only to accidentally touch a thistle from the bush, getting it stuck on his finger. The gator shouted in pain and fell backwards to the ground. "Pricker bushes got me!" he cried. "Gator down! Gator down!"

Ray wasn't amused by this act.

"The darkness is closin' in!" Louis shouted, covering his head with his arms and curling up in a fetal position. "I'm so cold."

"Will you hold still, you big baby?" Ray asked, going in to remove the thistle.

Louis let out a blood curdling cry.

"…I ain't touched it yet."

Nearby, three heads popped out of the bush. One was a short boy in a yellow shirt and jeans with three strands of hair on his head. Another was tall in a red and white striped shirt with a green jacket and a buzzed haircut. He had a unibrow and big wandering eyes. The last was a scrawny boy in a red shirt and black pants with a black beanie on his head.

"Hey, Double D," the short boy whispered. "See those frogs down there?"

"Why, yes, Eddy, I see them perfectly," the sock-head boy replied. "What fine specimens they are! Oh, they look so happy in their natural habitat!"

The short boy, Eddy, gave Double D a smug look. "Yeah, whatever," he muttered.

"Are we gonna catch the frogs, Eddy?" the big-eyed boy asked in a loud, obnoxious voice.

"Would you shut up, you big lug?" Eddy took a stick and hit the loud one on the head. "Do you want to scare them away?" He grinned and rubbed his hands together. "Oh, the kids back in the cul-de-sac would pay some big cash for those babies…"

"Eddy! You are not going to take those frogs out of their habitat for money!" Double D scolded. "Besides, they're only frogs. No one is going to pay big amounts of money for amphibians."

"Oh, lay off, Sock-head! Even you said that they're 'fine specimens.' I'm catching me some frogs."

Eddy and Double D lowered back down behind the bushes. The tall, loud one remained standing, blinking his eyes alternately with a dumb look on his face. Eddy grabbed him and yanked him down.

"Stop fooling around, Ed!" Eddy hissed.

Meanwhile, Jaqulin and Carter were still making their way through the bushes—with Jaqulin doing all the work, of course. Carter moseyed along behind her with his hands laced behind his head comfortably. Jaqulin didn't bother asking for help; she couldn't forget what happened the last time she asked.

"You know, _Jaqulin_, I have finally figured out what's wrong with you," Carter said at last.

"Is that so?" Jaqulin answered without so much as a glance the prince's way. She didn't have time for his little guessing games.

"Yeah. You, my blonde friend, don't remember how to have fun. There, I said it. Somebody had to or else you may have been holed up like a recluse in all five of your jobs…or…however many you said you had."

Jaqulin really wanted to whirl around and punch the lights out of the guy, but instead, she forced a smile and turned to look at Carter. "Well, thank you for being so honest with me, Your _Majesty_," she said. "I really do appreciate it. Now do you want to know what I think _your _problem is?"

Carter smirked and examined his hand casually as if he already knew the answer. "I'm…too amazing?" he guessed. A branch came around and smacked him in the head, throwing him to the ground.

"No," Jaqulin stated simply, jabbing her stick into Carter's chest. "You're a lazy, no-count, Baloo wannabe who only wishes he was too 'amazing'." She walked away.

Carter laughed as he brushed himself off and got to his feet. "Killjoy," he coughed.

"Wanna run that by me again?" Jaqulin questioned sweetly, but with venom in her eyes.

"No, no. Everything's fine."

Jaqulin stalked away again.

"Stick in the mud!" Carter coughed again.

"Alright, Prince Charming," Jaqulin growled, getting in Carter's face. "This stick in the mud—yeah, I heard that—has had to work two jobs—not _five_—her whole life while you've been sucking on a silver spoon and chasing chambermaids around your…your ivory tower!" She hopped away in agitation.

"Actually…it's polished marble."

Just then, a net swooped in out of nowhere and snatched Carter up. Carter cried out in terror and surprise. Jaqulin glanced over her shoulder and gasped, her eyes going wide.

"Hey, Double D!" Eddy cried. "I got the big one! I can already see the money pouring in!"

"Eddy, I really wish you wouldn't do this!" Double D pleaded.

"Ed, make sure you get that small one over there, too!"

"Okey dokey, Eddy!" Ed answered, chasing after Jaqulin.

"Jaqulin, help!" Carter screamed.

Jaqulin could feel her heart pounding like it had when Dodger had been chasing her and Carter at Charlotte's party the previous night. She didn't know what to do. All she could think to do was run…or in this case, hop. She needed time to devise a plan to save Carter. Suddenly, a hand grabbed Jaqulin and hoisted her up into the air.

"Oooh, I'm sorry, little frog!" Double D apologized. "I-I don't want to hurt you!"

_Doesn't mean I'm not going to hurt you!_ Jaqulin thought. Using her frog legs, she pried herself loose from Double D's hand and jumped away.

"Oooh!" Double D groaned. "I can't do this!"

"Let me handle this, Double D!" Ed yelled. He picked up a large log and chucked it at the escaping Jaqulin.

"ED!" Double D shrieked, grabbing his beanie in distress. "Don't do that!"

Fortunately for Jaqulin, the log narrowly missed her and she was able to jump off.

At the same time, Ray was just removing the last thistle from Louis, who yowled in the pain. Then his eyes caught the boat containing Eddy—and a couple rifles, which were actually a couple of really large sticks that looked like rifles. His eyes bulged from his sockets.

"Hunters with guns!" Louis cried. Without thinking, he dove into the bushes. An audible scream emitted from the gator, for he had just jumped into more thistles.

Ray shook his head at the gator and then he noticed Eddy as well, only he saw Carter caught in the boy's net. The firefly gasped. "Oh, no, no, no!" he exclaimed. He shot forward towards Eddy with one arm outstretched. "A bug's gotta do what a bug's gotta doooooo!" With that, Ray zipped up Eddy's nose.

"Agh!" Eddy grunted. He released Carter, who was dropped into the water. Eddy tried everything he could to get the firefly out of his nose: hitting the side of his head, smacking his face, everything. Finally, he plugged one nostril and blew as hard as he could.

Ray went flying out of Eddy's nose, covered in snot, for lack of a better word, and slammed into a rock.

"I think I done chip my favorite tooth," Ray moaned as he slid off the rock and into the water.

Meanwhile, Jaqulin was desperately trying to get out of eyesight, but to no avail. She hopped one way only to have Ed stomping towards her. A loud gasp escaped Jaqulin's mouth when she saw the tall boy.

"Come here, little froggy," Ed said. He had a large stick raised above his head. "I will capture you and take you home and read you comics every day."

Jaqulin hesitated on a log, knowing Double D to be behind her.

"Ed, wait!" Double D shouted. He was reluctantly carrying a small cage in his hands meant to hold the frogs once caught.

All of a sudden, Ed slipped on some mud, rammed into Double D and landed on the log. This action catapulted Jaqulin into the air and she landed perfectly in the cage Double D had been carrying. Ed opened his eyes and saw the terrified frog in the cage in front of him.

"Look, Double D!" Ed cried. "We caught the little froggy in a little cage."

Double D and Ed took Jaqulin back to the boat. She was placed inside and then Double D sat on top of the cage to make sure she didn't get away.

"I'm sorry, you poor animal," Double D apologized once more. "I never wanted to do this to you, but Eddy's my friend!"

"Eddy, we got the small froggy," Ed said. He looked around the boat as they started to drift away. "Hey, Eddy, what happened to your big froggy?"

"Keep your mouth shut, Ed," Eddy grumbled. "I'll still get something for the little one." He snickered. "I can taste those jawbreakers already!"

Carter burst out of the water and noticed the boat with the frog hunters pulling away. He laughed in victory as he slapped the surface of the water. "That's right!" he yelled. "Just keep moving along, guys! No one or nothing can capture Prince…huh?" Carter spotted Jaqulin trapped inside the cage. He had to do something! Thinking fast, Carter shot his frog tongue at the boat; the mucus stuck to the wood easily.

Jaqulin stopped struggling to get out when she saw what Carter was doing. _Maybe he can actually pull this off,_ she thought.

Carter was yanked out of the water and once he got his bearings, he skimmed the water, using his webbed feet as a pair of water skis. Carter chuckled; this was a piece of cake. Then the back of the boat got closer and closer before Carter smacked into it.

_…Or maybe not_, Jaqulin added glumly in her head.

Ed straightened up immediately when he felt and heard the thud. He blinked once, and then glanced at Eddy. "Eddy!" he said. "Did you hear that thud at the back of the boat?"

Eddy frowned and reached up to scratch his head—where Carter happened to be sitting. Eddy ended up scratching Carter's back, so thinking quickly, Carter rubbed Eddy's head. "For once, Ed, you're not imagining things," he said. "I heard it, too."

Jaqulin gasped when she noticed Carter atop Eddy's head. Her blue eyes widened. She mouthed the words, "What do you think you're doing?" at Carter, furrowing her eyebrows.

Carter winked at Jaqulin and mouthed back, "Trust me." He looked at Ed and Double D and brought a finger to his lips, telling them to keep quiet as they both stared blankly at the amphibian on their friend's head.

Eddy finally noticed that his two friends were staring at him. "What are you two looking at? So something hit the back of the boat, big deal," he said. "I'm not the one with the imagination…"

"I've got it, Eddy!" Ed cried as he brought a stick down on Eddy's head. When Carter jumped out of the way and landed back on Eddy's head easily, Ed continued to smack Eddy with the stick in attempt to hit the frog. "Oops, missed. Oops, missed again. Hold still, little froggy, Ed comes in peace."

Every time Ed missed, Carter would make a different face every time. He arched his eyebrows with a grin, he yawned in feigned boredom—he even stuck his tongue out at Ed. Jaqulin couldn't help but stifle a laugh at this scene playing out before her. She was so consumed by it all that she didn't notice Double D get off the cage to help.

Carter pointed at Jaqulin. "Go!" he yelled.

Double D grabbed another large stick and brought it level to Eddy's eyes. Carter latched onto Eddy's face and both he and Eddy screamed in terror. It wasn't as terrifying as a gun, but the last thing Carter wanted was to be pressed any closer to Eddy's face than he already was and the last thing Eddy wanted was to have his nose broken.

Jaqulin realized what Double D was going to and she sprang from the cage to help. She landed on the stick, lowering it between Eddy's legs just as Double D thrust it forward. The impact ripped the bottom of Eddy's pants off.

Ed laughed dumbly, strangely amused by it all, and didn't bother to look for the frogs. Double D was beside himself.

"Eddy, I'm sorry! It was that frog, I…!" Double D tried to apologize.

Carter and Jaqulin ended up on Double D's foot. Carter smirked at Jaqulin. "Watch this," he said. Like what he had done the night he ran into Jaqulin, Carter blew out his cheeks to create a distraction.

"There he is, Eddy!" Ed shouted. He stomped down on Double D's foot, the frogs moving just in time.

Double D yowled in pain only for Ed's stick to whack him in the gut.

Carter and Jaqulin landed on Ed's head. Jaqulin launched her pink tongue in Double D's face, the mucus sticking to the skin momentarily. In reaction, Double D tried to hit the frogs, but like before, they leaped out of harm's way and the stick thumped Ed in the head. Ed only chuckled stupidly.

Pretty soon, Carter and Jaqulin had the three guys fighting each other. They hopped this way and that, causing the friends to trip, hit and tackle each other unintentionally. Finally, taking each other's hands, Carter and Jaqulin jumped past Ed's head, which made Eddy hit the stupid one in the face. Then it was over; the frog hunters were worn out and defeated.

"Ugh…darn it…these frogs…" Eddy tried to say.

"They're not like any frogs I've studied," Double D added. "They're incredibly smart for their species."

Carter and Jaqulin appeared in front of the hunters. Smiling wryly, Jaqulin announced, "And we talk, too!"

This caused an uproar. Screaming in complete fright and utter shock, the three Ed's grabbed their oars and high-tailed it out of the bayou, leaving Jaqulin and Carter behind.

Meanwhile, Louis pressed Ray's abdomen gently, releasing the excess water, and brought a cattail stem to Ray's face. He breathed through it twice to revive Ray, which he did successfully. Ray started to cough and the little firefly sat up.

"You alright there, little bud?" Louis asked.

"I'm fine," Ray replied. He waved a hand in front of his face. "But your breath done near kill me to death."

"Uh…would you mind?" Louis pointed at a single thistle on his belly.

Ray soared upwards. "Aw, I got you covered, brah." The firefly removed the thistle easily.

Louis sighed with relief. "Much obliged, peewee," he said. "Now how about, uh…the other side?" With that, the gator lifted his tail and revealed thistles galore all down his backside.

Ray groaned.

"'And we talk, too.' I loved that!" Carter exclaimed to Jaqulin as they walked along. "You know, Jaq, maybe you haven't completely lost your sense of humor over the years."

Jaqulin raised an eyebrow with a grin. "Oh, so I'm _not _a stick in the mud?" she asked.

"Well, I wouldn't say _that_…"

"Say it."

"OK, so you're not…"

"Say it, Carter."

"…entirely…"

"Can't hear you. You might want to speak up a little. What was that?"

"…a complete stick _deep _in the mud."

Jaqulin laughed out loud, the first real laugh she'd had in a long time. Carter blushed a bit, really liking the sound of her laughter. It was clear and happy. It made his heart pound just a little faster when he heard it.

A cry made both frogs look up.

There was Louis flat on his stomach on the ground. Ray was operating on the thistle situation, removing them one by one. "Easy," Louis warned. "Easy!" He glared at the firefly.

"Oh, this one's in there, ain't it?" Ray questioned out loud. "Hold on." He ripped out the stubborn thistle.

"Holy…!" Louis cried.

Jaqulin walked up to the suffering gator.

"Chere, I know we gots to get to Mama Odie lickety-split," Ray explained from behind Louis, "but this particular extractification is going to take a while. Yeah." He yanked out another thistle.

"Aww…poor Louis," Jaqulin sympathized. She reached out and softly touched the gator on the snout. "You'll be OK, you'll see."

"You know what would make me feel better? OW!" Louis sniffled at the pain. "Crawfish smothered in remoulade sauce…Mercy!"

"Just a little more!" Ray announced.

"With some Bananas Foster sprinkled with pralines…Oh, Mama!"

Jaqulin walked over to a pumpkin and removed its giant leaf. "How about some swamp gumbo? Would that make you feel better?" she asked.

"That will do," Louis answered calmly. He screamed again when another thistle was removed.

"Mmm, sounds perfect," Carter said as he sat down and relaxed. "I'll start with a pre-dinner cocktail and a little something to nibble on while I wait. Hope that's not a problem." He folded his arms behind his head and closed his eyes.

Jaqulin shook her head. "Oh, no, no, no, I don't think so," she remarked while tying a leaf around her waist to act as an apron. "If you're going to eat, you're going to help. Come on. Off your lazy butt, now." Without waiting for a response, Jaqulin grabbed Carter's arm and yanked him up to his feet.

Carter had almost forgotten just how strong Jaqulin was after all these years.

"You are going to mince the mushrooms." Jaqulin handed Carter a small, sharp rock.

"Do what to the mushrooms?"

"_Mince _the mushrooms!" The blue-eyed frog hopped away to look for more ingredients and start up the pot for the gumbo. "And hurry it up too, we're all hungry!"

Carter held the mushroom awkwardly by its stem. "Um…this is a little…ridiculous," he mumbled.

"Are we mincing over there?"

"Alright!" Carter snapped back. "Alright. Just relax. Seesh." He gulped and poked the mushroom with the rock. Finally, he laid it down on a rock and tried cutting it that way. The effort for him was strenuous. "Phew!" Carter wiped the invisible sweat from his brow. He cut all the way through the next time and he sighed. "One."

Carter heard the start of a roaring fire and he glanced in Jaqulin's direction. Jaqulin had already created a fire beneath her naturally-made gumbo pot and had the ingredients boiling inside.

"OK, Carter, let me show you how it's done," Jaqulin stated, brushing her hands together and walking over to Carter. "Watch…" She took the little rock knife from Carter and twirled it skillfully in her hand. "…and learn." Quickly, precisely, Jaqulin cut the mushroom one way and then another until it was completely minced. Once she was done, she flipped the knife over and handed it back to Carter.

"U-Uh…wow," Carter managed to say. He tried to hide his blushing face when Jaqulin came up behind him, took his hand and slowly minced with him, patiently guiding him with the right movements.

"There you go," Jaqulin said in approval. She patted Carter on the back before hopping back to her concoction of swamp gumbo.

"You know…I've never done anything like this before," Carter said. "Well, maybe I could have at one point, but once I became a prince, I guess all of that went away." He got started on another mushroom.

"Really?" Jaqulin said it like it was a real surprise to her.

"OK, OK. But you when you live in a castle, you just get so used to someone else doing something for you. All the time. I mean, there's someone to dress you, to feed you…to drive you, even! Brush your teeth!"

Jaqulin gave Carter a mock sympathetic look. "Aww, you poor little baby," she cooed.

Carter laughed a short laugh. "Well, it wasn't all bad," he admitted. "It was a charmed life…but the day my parents cut me off, I realized…" Carter leaned with his chin in the palm of his hand. "…that I really can't do anything."

Jaqulin did pity Carter when she saw his genuine disappointment. She stopped stirring the gumbo and approached her friend. She glanced at his mincing job. "Well, hey," she said gently. "At least you have the makings of a good mincer." She scooped up Carter's mushroom and before turning, she threw a piece at the prince's head.

"Do you really think so?" Carter asked, brightening up.

"Yep. So much so, I might even hire you when I get my restaurant."

"Really?"

"Nope."

"Aww, come on, Jaq! That was below the frog belt!"

Jaqulin giggled a bit at that. "OK, so maybe it was."

Carter rubbed his arm and bit his lower lip as he thought about his next question. "So, what got you started on cooking? When I first met you, you didn't strike me as the stay-at-home mom who cooked something for every meal."

Jaqulin paused for a moment, then shrugged. "It was my mom, I guess," she said quietly. "After she died…" That one line was filled with bitterness and resentment. It wasn't fair how Aerith had died. "…I almost gave up on my dream to even be a cook. To even start a restaurant."

"What made you change your mind?"

"Well…after that whole adventure I had with you and after being reunited with my father, I knew I had to make it up to my mother. I know she would have wanted me to continue my dreams."

Carter didn't say or ask anything more. He became thoughtful.

"Anyway, I've got the gumbo handled from here," Jaqulin said. "Why don't you go relax for a while and I'll call when it's ready." She smiled. "And good job on the mincing, Carter. Really."

Carter grinned. "I learned from the best," he responded. He turned away and sat beside a tree to think about what he had learned.

* * *

**A/N: I LOVED doing this chapter! So fun! And I'm glad I'm able to keep some characters and change others, like the frog hunters. When I was thinking about who I would pick for them, I thought of big, stupid Ed from "Ed, Edd n' Eddy" and I knew he was perfect for the stupid frog hunter. Then I realized that Eddy fit the pa and Double D, while he's nothing like Two Fingers, just fell into place. Revelation. I hope this wasn't TOO bad...I worked my hardest on it and tried to make it original in my own way. **

**On to the next chapter!**


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